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' iriposstssiowofM^S^FhiAn^y 



HISTOKY 



OF 



THE NAVY 



OF THK 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



BY J; FENIMORE COOPER. 



CONTINUED TO 1853. 



FROM THE AUTHOR'S MANUSCRIPTS, AND OTHER AUTHENTIC SOURCEa 



THREE VOLUMES IN ONE. 



NEW YORK: 

G. P. PUTNAM & CO., 10 PARK PLACE. 

18 53. 






o- ' 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by 
CAROLINE M. PHINNEY, 

In the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Northern District 
of New York. 



THIS WORK, 

AN IMPERFECT EECOKD OF THE 

SERVICES, PRIVATIONS, HAZARDS, AND SUFFERINGS OF THEMSELVES 

AND THEIR PREDECESSORS, 

rS OFFERED AS A TRIBUTE OF PROFOUND RESPECT 

TO 

THE OFFICERS OF THE NAVY, 

INCLUDING THOSE OF 

THE MARINE CORPS, 

BY ONE 

WHO IS FULLY SENSIBLE OF ALL THEIR CLAIMS ON THE REPUBLIC 
FOR GRATITUDE AND PR0TECT105. 



C^l\ 



CONTENTS TO VOL. L 



CHAPTEE, I. 

Expedition to Plymouth in the Mayl'lower St. Sauveur reduced First deck vessel 

constructed First vessel built in Massachusetts Hugh Peters executed for high 

treason First sea fight of the American colonies.. ..First regular cruisers First reg- 
ular naval combat Capture of New Netherlands First vessels on Lakes Onta- 
rio and Erie First depredations of the Buccaniersin American seas First attempt 

fl|to suppress piracy.. ..Diving bell used Expedition against Port Royal against due- 
bee. ..Sir William Phipps Launch of the Falkland. jPag-e 13. 

CHAPTER IL 

Captain Kidd Population of Colonics Attack on Charleston by the Spaniards they 

ai-e repulsed with great loss Port Royal reduced its name changed to Anapolis 

New Providence captured Pirates expelled First negro slaves brought into the 

country. . . .First American vessel engaged in the slave trade. . . . The Whale fisheries. . . . 
Shipping of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.... Small armed vessels employed.... 

Wars between England and Spain and France....efFectson the American colonies 

Expedition against Louisbourg.... Vessels captured.... Acadie (now Nova Scotia) 
ceded to England. 23 

CHAPTER in. 

Shipping of different ports, in 1750 — Practice respecting Midshipmen — Old French War 
— Sharp conflict between the Thurloe and Les Deux Amis — JDuty on stamps and tea — 
Burning of the Gaspe — Destruction of the tea — Battle of Lexington. • - - 33 

CHAPTER IV. 

Privateers— First naval action of the Revolution — Schooner Lee, Capt. Manly, captures 
tlie English brig Nancy — Congress orders the construction of vessels of war — Appor- 
tionment of the first officers of the navy — Its management — Esek Hopkins, Esq. ap- 
pointed " Commander in Chief" — First regular cruisers — Expedition of Commodore 
Hopkins — Contest with the Glasgow — The Edward captured by the Lexington. 42 

CHAPTER V. 

Paul Jones — His first cruise as. a Commander — Additional vessels ordered by Congress 
— Law regulating the rank of officers — The Andrea Doria, Capt. Biddle, takes sev- 
eral piizes — The Defence, Capt. Harding, after a sharp action, captures two English 
schooners— Cruise of the Providence and Alfred — Cruise of the Reprisal in Europe — 
Of the Lexington do. — Cruises of Capt. Wickes — Lexington taken — Loss of the 
Reprisal — Cruises of Capt. Conyugham. 55 

CHAPTER VL 

Commodore Sir Peter Parker attacks Charleston — Is repulsed by the Americans — Capt. 
Mugford captures the Hope — The Sachem, Capt. Robinson, captures an English let- 
ter of marque — Capt. R. put in command of the Doria — Captures the Racehorse, after 
a sharp contest — Conflict of American galleys with the enemy — Capt. Hudson of the 
Ranger captures a British brig, after an action of two hours — Battle on Lake Cham- 
plain — General Arnold — American privateers. 67 

CHAPTER VIL 

Successful cruise of the Randolph Britishaccountof theac on, in which she blew up 

Loss of the Cabot.. ..The Trumbull captures two EugLsh transports The Han- 
cock, Capt. Manly, captures the Fox, which is afterwards recaptured off Halifax 

Capt. M. surrenders his ship to the British Capt. McNiel censured and dismissed the 

service Vessels destroyed in the Delaware by the English The Augusta blown 

sp Cruise of the Raleigh, and her action with "the Druid. 76 



VI ■ CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

AUiamce with France New frigates Seizure of New Providence by Capt. Raih- 

burr.e Capture of the Alfred Loss of the Virginia, Capt. Nicholson, on a bar in 

the Delaware.... American vessels destroyed on the Delaware.. ..John Paul Jones com- 
mands the Ranger attempt to capture the Drake to burn the colliers at White- 
haven to seize the Earl of Selkirk his conduct to Lady Selkirk action with, 

and capture of the Drake The Pigot cut out by Major Talbot The private anned 

ship Thorn, Capt. Waters, engages the Govei-nor Tryon and the Sir William Erskine, 

and captures the latter Capture of the Sparlin Capt. John Ban-y, captures a British 

schooner and four transports. ...his appointment to the Raleigh and action with the 
Experiment and Unicom Loss of the Raleigh. Page 84. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Alliance sails with Lafayette for France.. ..conspiracy on board.. ..Action of the 
Hampden with an Indiaman....Nine British vessels captured, and twenty-four British 
officers made prisoners, by Capt. Hopkins.. ..Valuable prizes sent into Boston by Capt. 
Whipple. ...The Cumberland, Capt. Manly, is captured by the Pomona frigate.... CaptJfc 
Manly in the private armed ship Jason, engages with, and captures two British priva- 
teers.. ..Description of the Bon Homme Richard. ...Capture of a letter of marque, by Paul 
Jones.... Disobedience of orders, by Capt. Landais of the Alliance....Capt Lawrence 
takes command of the Chesapeake.. ..Action of the Bon Homme Richard with, and 
capture of the Serapis....Capt. Landais fires into the Richard... .she sinksr - • 94. 

CHAPTER X. 

Arrival of the Serapis in Holland — Paul Jones takes command of the Alliance, and is 
forced to put to sea — Capt. Landais is discharged the navy — Commodore Jones in 
the Ariel returns to America— Sketch of his life — Vote of thanks by Congress — Re- 
ceives command of the America — Several captures by the Deane, Capt. Samuel 
Nicholson — Capture of the Active — Action with the Duft^ — Expedition against the 
British post on the Penobscot— -Lobs of all the vessels engaged therein. - - 115. 

CHAPTER XL 

Attack on and reduction of Charleston — Capture of the Boston — the Providence — the 
the dueen of France — and the Ranger— Action between the Trumbull and the letter 
of marque Walt — The Saratoga, Capt. Young, captures the Charming Molly and two 
brigs— they are retaken by the Intrepid — the Saratoga founders at sea — The Alliance, 
Capt. John Barry, captures the Alert, Mars, and Minerva — her action with and capture 
of the Atalanta and Trepflssy — action off Havanna — The Confederacy captured by 
the British — Action with the Iris and loss of the Trumbull — Sketch of Capt. James 
Nicholson — Capture of the Savage by the Congress, Capt. Gcddes — Three sloops of 
war and several cruisers, captured by the Deane, Capt. Nicholson. - - • 121. 

CHAPTER XIL 

The Hyder Ally, Capt. Joshua Barney, sails with convoy down the Delaware — action 
with, and capture of the General Monk — he commands the Washington — Commodore 
Gillon goes to Europe to purchase vessels — agrees for the ludien — makes a ci-uiseand 
captures ten sail — Capture of the Indien — One of the most desperate defences on 
record, by Capt. Murray — Close of naval events connected with the Revolution; - 130. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Brief review — List of vessels in the navy between 1775 and '83, and the fate of each — 
Description of the America 74 — she is presented to the king of France — Capt. Manly, 
anecdote of his first capture— -Capture and imprisonment of Capt. Conj^ngham— -Most 
distinguished naval officers of the Revolution— -The American marine— -its difficulties- 
Crew of a vessel of war— -its composition— -Congress establishes a marine corps— -List 
of officers first appointed- —value of the corps— What vessel first carried the Ameri- 
can flag. 137. 

CHAPTER XrV. 

First vessel to China — Adoption of the Union— -its effect on the navy — Difficulties with 
IheDeyof Algiers— -John Paul Jones appointed consul-— His death at Paris— Capture 
of American vessels by an Algcrine squadron-— Warlike preparations-— Mr. Hum- 
phrey's models for six new frigates accepted— -the improvements described—Notice 
of the commanders selected—Treaty willi Algiers—The Crescent made a present to 



CONTENTS. Vll 



the Dey— -Singular extract from a journal respecting ber freight-— French aggres- 
sions-— Launch of the United States, the Constitution, and the Constellation-— Navy 
department created— -The capture of French ciniisers authorised by law— -New marine 
corps established— -Whole authorised force of the navy. 146. 

CHAPTER XV. 

The Ganges, Capt. Richard Dale, is brought into the sei-vice with orders to capture all 
French cruisers &c Capture of Le Croyable, by the Delaware, Capt. Decatur.. ..Na- 
val force at sea....Att'air of the Baltimore and the British ship Carnatick....Five of the 
Baltimore's crew are impressed and three of her convoy captured.... Capt. Pliiliips of 
the Baltimore, dismissed from the navy.. ..Different opinions respecting his conduct.... 
Capture of the Retaliation, Lieut. Bainbridge, by the Volontaire and Insurgente. ...Es- 
cape of the Montezuma and Norfolk. ...Return and promotion of Lieut. Bainbridge.... 
Captures of the Sans Pareil and Jaloux. 154 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Naval force — Character of the different vessels — their distribution in the service — Cap- 
•• tures made by the respective squadrons — The Constitution, Com. Truxtun, captures 
rinsurgeute — Critical situation of the prize crew — Action of the Constitution with 
La Vengeance — Loss of midshipman Jarvis — Com. Tnixtun receives a gold medal — 
Exploit of Lieut. Hull — Lossofl Insurgente and the Pickering with all their crews- 
Captures by tlie Enterprise, Lieut. Comdt. Shaw — by the Boston, Capt. Little — Brief 
catalogue of prizes taken on the West India station — Spirited engagement of the Ex- 
periment, Lieut. Comdt. Maley, with the picaroons — Lieut- Comdt. Stewart captures the 
Deux Amis and la Diane — his unfortrnate engagement with the (British privateer) 
Louisa Bridger — Capt. Bainbridge, in the George Washington, goes to Algiers with 
tribute — The demands of the Dey — Capt. B.'s decision — he forces through the Darda- 
nelles — his reception at Constantinople — return to Algiers — handsome conduct to the 
French — he returns home and is transferred to the Essex— Peace concluded with 
France. --. 165. 

CHAPTER XVIL 

Reduction of the qavy — The navy as reduced — Vessels sold — Of the war with France 
as it affected the navy — Gallant defence of the Louisa. 190. 

CHAPTER XVIIL 

Assumptions of the Bashaw of Tripoli — The American flag-staff is cut down — A squad- 
ron is fitted out under Com. Dale — His instructions — Action with, and capture of the 
ship Tripoli, by Lieut. Comdt. Sterrett^Com. Dale overhauls a Greek vessel — takes 
out an officer and twenty Tripolilan soldiers — attempts an exchange of prisoners — ■ 
The Presidemis near being lost— Leaving the Philadelphia and the Essex, Com. Dale 
proceeds home. 197. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Mediterranean squadron, under Com. Morris — Resignation of Com. Truxtun — Sketch 
of his life — The Boston, Capt. M'Niell, carries out Mr. Livingston minister to France — 
joins the Mediterranean squadron — Notice of Capt. M'Niell — Attack on gun-boats off 
Tripoli — Explosion on board the New York — Intrepid conduct of Capt. Chauncey — 
The John Adams, Capt. Rodgers, blockades Tripoli — detains the Meshouda — Braveiy 
of Capt. Porter at Old Tripoli — description of the town and port — Unsuccessful attempt 
to negotiate a peace — Attack on a Tripolitan corsair, by Capt. Rodgers — After a smart 
cannonade she blows up — Recall of Com. Morris — He is dismissed from the navy — 
Remarks — Sketch of bis life — Notice of Com. Barry — of Com. Dale. - - - 204. 

CHAPTER XX. 

Four small cruisers built — Mediterranean, squadron, under Com. Preble — Capt. Bain- 
bridge takes the Barbary cruiser, Meshboha — afterwards re-takes her prize the Celia 
of Boston — Difficulties with Morocco settled — Remarks on the appointment of Com. 
Preble — Anecdote respecting him. - - - - - 218. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Blockade of Tripoli resumed — Loss of the Philadelphia on a reef— Captain Bainbridge 
and all his crew made prisoners — List of the oiBcers' names — Humane conduct of Mr. 
Nissen, the Danish consul — The Philadelphia is got off by the enemy — her guns and 
anchors weighed— Capture of the ketch Mastico, by Lient. Comdt. Decatur — His 



VIU CONTENTS. 



nnsuccessful attempt to destroy the Philadelphia — His second attempt — Mr. Charles 
Morris is the first on her deck — She is recaptured and burnt — Lieut. Comdt. Decatur 
is raised to the rank of Captain. 221 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The Mediterranean squadron is re-inforced — Capture of the Transfer, by the Siren 
Lieut. Comdt. Stewart — Assistance obtained from the Two Sicilies — First bombard- 
ment of Tripoli — Attack on the enemy's gun-boats — Fierce combat and capture of 
two boats, by Lieut. Comdt. Decatur — Lieut. James Decatur, of the Nautilus, killed — 
Gallant conduct of Lieut. Trippe — he captures one of the largest gun-boats — Rally of 
the enemy — they are driven back. 235. 

CHAPTER XXni. 

Capt. Morris boards and carries a French privateer by surprise — Three captured gun- 
boats brought into service— .Second bombardment — Gun-boat, No. 8, blown up — Lieut. 
Caldwell and Mr. Kennedy among the killed — Notice of Mr. Kennedy — Arrival of the 
John Adams, Capt. Chauncey — The Bashaw is disposed to treat — his propositions 
rejected — Third bombardment, without effect — Fourth bombardment — does much 
injury to the town — Capt. Bainbridge (a prisoner in the castle) is wounded in his bed 
by the rebound of a shot — Fifth bombardment — New disposition of the forces — The 
enemy's batteries silenced by the brisk fire of the Constitution. ... - 245. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

New species of annoyance to the enemy — The " Infernal" — Equipment of the ketch 
Intrepid— she is sent into the harbour of Tripoli — she blows up with all her crew — Prob- 
able causesof the disaster — Private journal of Capt. Bainbridge — The President, Com. 
Barron, rejoins the squadron — The command is transferred to Com. B. — Capture 
of two sail loaded with wheat — Com. Preble returns to the United States — Capt. 
Richard Somers — sketch of his life. 252. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Force of the American squadron under Com. Barron — Avigourous blockade kept up — 
Movement by land — Hamet Caramalli, brother of the Bashaw, unites with the Ameri- 
cans under General Eaton — Attack on Deme — Its submission — The authority of 
Caramalli partially acknowledged — General Eaton presses Com. Barron for rein- 
forcements to march on Tripoli — he is denied — The decision of Com. Barron con-, 
sidered — He formally transfers the command to Capt. John Rodgers — The entire force 
under this new disposition — Peace concluded with Tripoli. — Influence of the war on 
tlie fortunes and character of the navy. - 861. 



PREFACE. 



The author of this History of the Navy of the United States, in 
submitting a new edition to the decision of the public, has endeav- 
oured to make it as accurate, as further investigation, and increased 
means of acquiring information will allow. The writer of a work 
of this particular character has two great sources of facts to distrust, 
and in some measure to resist : the partialities of personal friends 
and connections, who so often regard merit with the exaggerations 
of private feeling, and the strong disposition there is in all communi- 
ties, to countenance self-esteem, even at the expense of truth. These 
difficulties have been kept in view, and it is hoped that this book is 
as free from errours derived from such weaknesses as can well be ex- 
pected, under the ordinary failings of humanity. 

It would be much easier to write a book on the subject of the navy, 
that should meet the longings of national vanity, than to write one 
which shall meet the requirements of truth. The country is filled 
with false and exaggerated statements concerning the exploits of 
both its army and its navy, and the author who should choose to 
accept them for focts, would have no difficulty in referring to his au- 
thorities, though they would be authorities entitled to little respect. 
The author has preferred to make an effiart to obtain the truth, and, 
while he still admits his liability to fall into errour, he hopes that a 
nearer approach to that desirable quality has been made in this, than 
in either of the previous editions. , 

The new matter introduced into this edition, has been obtained 
from sources that are believed to be authentic. It is considerable in 
amount, and in several instances of importance; though so much 
dispersed through the two volumes, as probably to escape the atten- 
tion of cursory examination. As instances of its value, we refer to 
the capture of the Hancock, 32, during the war of the revolution ; to 
the loss of the two sloops on Lake Champlain, in 1812; to that ot 
the two schooners on Lake Ontario, in 1813, and to several other 
similar events. The corrections in dates and minor incidents, will 
not be apt to strike the eye at first, but the importance of accuracy in 
such matters will be readily admitted. 

It is repeated, that exaggerations, whether of fact or manner, have 
been regarded as out of place in history. The navy of this country 
does not stand in need of such assistants, to command the esteem, or 
the admiration of the world. From the hour when it was first called 



X PREFACE. 

into existence, during the aiduows struggles of a most important revo- 
lution, down to the present moment, its services have been material and 
brilliant, and he is but an equivocal friend who shall attempttocon- 
cealitsrealexploitsbehindtheveil of flattery. Such expedients may 
serve a purpose, and answer for a time ; but, in the end, the truth 
will be certain to assert, and to recover, its ascendency. 

As an instance of what is meant, the reader is referred to the ac- 
count of the loss of the Intrepid, before Tripoli, in the year 1804. 
Popular delusion, in this instance, has been supported by evidence 
better than common, in supposing that Somers, and his gallant com- 
panions, blew themselves up. We think this an errour, though it is 
an errour into which Preble, himself, would seem to have fallen. 
That which we have believed we have not hesitated to record, and 
our statements must stand, or fall, by the evidence and reasoning that 
have been adduced in their support. Without entering into the dis- 
cussion of the question of how far any man would be justified in de- 
stroying himself, and those under his orders, to avoid capture, we 
have given what we regard as unanswerable proof that the ketch 
was in no immediate danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, 
when she blew up, and that the contingency which has been popu- 
larly urged as the justification of Somers' supposed self-destruction, 
had not even occurred. 

In the instances of the victories of the Constellation, United States, 
Constitution, Lake Erie, «fec., we have not hesitated to resist errour 
on the subject of superiority of force, believing it to be a far higher 
duty to record that which we feel certain to be true, than to record 
that which may be momentarily agreeable. Conscious of having 
maintained a scrupulous impartiality on this subject, we wish to 
be judfifed by our whole work, and not by isolated instances, dragged 
from out the mass, by the desire of individuals to monopolise the 
renown of the entire service. AVe believe that the navy, itself, ap- 
preciates the justice of our course, while it both sees and feels the 
designs of those who have opposed it. * 

The country appears to be touching on great events. A war has 
commenced among us, which, though scarcely of a maritime char- 
acter, in itself, must give extensive employment to the national 
marine, and may indeed demand, in the end, the exercise of all its 
energies. The Navy of the United States presents a very different 
aspect, in 1846, from that which it oftered in 1815. Its existence 
has been trebled as to time, within the last thirty years, and its force 
increased fifty fold. Though far from being yet, what prudence 
would have dictated, and the wants of the republic actually de- 
mand, it can now bring its fleet into line, and exercise a most essen- 
tial influence on the result of any conflict. As respects the navies 



/ 

PREFACE. Xi 

of this hemisphere, it is supreme ; the united marines of all the rest 
of this continent being unable to contend against it, for an hour. As 
respects the three great maritime States of Europe, though inferior 
to each in vessels, it can scarcely be called inferior to more than one 
of them in resources; while in character, skill and hopes, it is second 
to no other service on earth. These are great changes, and all has 
been eftected within the limits of a single life. What is to succeed in 
the last half of this century, may be dimly shadowed forth, by the aid 
of the images of the past. Divine Providence controuls all for its own 
great ends ; but, should its laws work as they have done for the last 
half century, the historian of the American Navy, who shall sit down 
to his labours in the year 1900, will have a task before him very 
different from that which has fallen to our share. 

Cooj^erstown, 1846. 



PEEFACE TO THE CONTINUATION. 



The continuation of this work has been prepared from unfinished manuscript?,, 
documents, etc., left by Mr. Cooper, and from other most reUable and authentic 
sources, published, documentary and personal. Free access has been had to the 
archives of the Navy Department, and to the papers of actors in some of the 
scenes recorded: in addition to which, the ■whole has been carefully revised, 
especially in the portions within their personal knowledge, by several officers of 
the Navy, whose familiarity with its history, as well as their age, rank and position, 
rendered their aid of the highest value. 

Although the writer has aimed only at a plain narrative of facts, he has felt, 
with the members of Mr. Cooper's family who in the discharge of their responsi- 
bility have devolved the preparation of this edition upon him, that it was due to 
the subject and the author that no time nor pains should be spared to complete 
his design of making it a correct history of the navy to the present day.* With 
this view, and after careful research, it is hoped that no error or omission of con- 
sequence has occurred. 

The first edition of the Naval History appeared in 1839, in two octavo volumes, 
which were immediately republished in London, Paris, and Brussels. Besides the 
subsequent reprints here of this edition, an abridgment was prepared by the au- 
thor in 184.1, omitting the documents and more elaborate reasoning. In 1846 he 
revised the unabridged work, correcting, condensing, rewriting in part, and adding 
considerable new matter. This copy, embracing the history to 1815, with his latest 
€mendations, is followed in the present edition. 

In 1851, having for some time accumulated materials, he commenced the con- 
tinuation of the history ; but, after preparing only the portion upon the Mexican 
war, which is designated in its place, he was interrupted by the iUness which re- 
sulted in his death, Sept. 14, 1851. 

Cooperstown^ Sept., 1853. 

* In addition to this work, Mr. Cooper Is the author of two volumes of Lives of Distingttish- 
ED Naval Officers, to which, since liis death, is added his history of the old ship Constitution, 
more familiarly known as Old Ironsides. 



NAVAL HISTORY 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 

Expedition to Plymontli in the May Flower St. Sauveur reduced First deck vessel 

constructed First vessel built in Massachusetts Hugh Peters executed for high 

treason First sea fight of the American colonies.. ..First regular cruisers First reg- 
ular naval combat Capture of New Netherlands First vessels on Lakes Onta- 
rio and Erie First depredations of the Buccaniers in American seas First attempt 

to suppress piracy::::Diving bell used::::;Expedition against Port Royal against Q,ue- 

bec....Sir William Phipps Launch of the Falkland. Pai:;eU. 

The empire of Great Britain, much the most powerful state of 
modern times, has been gradually and progressively advancing to its 
present high degree of maritime prosperity, and its actual condition 
ought to be considered theresult of moral instead of physical causes, 
though the latter is probably the more prevalent opinion. Notwith- 
standing the insular position of its seat of authority, the naval as- 
cendency of England is of comparatively recent date ; Spain, and 
even the diminutive communities of Portugal and Holland, mani- 
festing as great, if not a greater spirit of lofty nautical enterprise 
than the islanders themselves, during the century and a half that 
succeeded the important discovery of the western hemisphere, and 
that of a passage by sea to India. While these three nations were 
colonising extensively, and laying the foundations of future states, 
the seamen of England expended their energies in predatory ex- 
peditions that were rapacious in their object and piratical in spirit. 
Familiar political causes, beyond at question, had an influence in 
bringing about these results; for, while the accession of the House 
of Hapsbourg to the throne of Spain and the Indies, created a power 
able to cope with Europe, as it then existed, England, driven entirely 
from her continental possessions, had Scotland for a troublesome 
neighbour, and Ireland for a discontented and turbulent subject, to 
check her efforts abroad. It is probable, too, that the civil contests, 
in which England was so long engaged, had a serious eflect on her 
naval advancement, and the struggle that succeeded the dethronement 
of the family of Stuart, could not fail to lessen exertions that were 
directed to interests without the territory more immediately in dispute. 
As a consequence of all these causes, or of that portion of them which 
was in existence at the commencement of the seventeenth century, 
when England seriously commenced the business of colonisation, 



14 NAVAL HISTORY. [1607-20. 

Spain, Franco and Portugal were already in possession of what were 
then considered the most favorable regions on the American conti- 
nent. AVhen, indeed, the experiment was finally and successfully 
made, individual enterprise, rather than that of the government, 
achieved the object; and for many years the power of the crown was 
exercised Avith no other aim than to afford an ill-regulated, and fre- 
quently an insufficient protection. It was Englishmen, and not 
England, that founded the country which is now known as the 
United States of America. 

It would exceed the proper bounds of a work of this nature, were 
we to enter into a detailed account of the events connected with the 
settlements in Virginia and Massachusetts. The first permanent 
establishment was made in the former colony, during the year 1607, 
and that at Plymouth followed in 1620. Nothing could be less alike 
than the motives which influenced the adventurers in these two 
enterprises, out of which has virtually arisen, within the short space 
of little more than two centuries, a Republic that has already taken 
its place among the great powers of Christendom, and which has 
only to be true to itself and to its predominant principles, to stand 
foremost in the ranks of nations. Those who cast their fortunes on 
the fertile shores of the waters of the Chesapeake sought worldly ad- 
vancement for themselves, an affluence for their posterity, while the 
Pilgrims, as it has become usual to term them the parent stock of 
New England, landed in quest of an asylum, where they might erect 
their altars, undisturbed by the temporal power that profaned the 
rites of the church in the old world. Natural affinities attracted like 
to like, and for quite a century the emigrants from Europe partook 
of the distinctive traits of the original colonists ; the one portion of 
the country being distinguished for the gay and reckless usages of 
successful pecuniary adventure, and the other for the more sobered 
and reflecting habits of severe moral training, and an industry that 
was stimvdated by necessity and tempered by prudence. The dis- 
tinction did not end here. If the one carried liberality and thought- 
lessness to the verge of indiscretion, the other substituted fanaticism 
and bigotry for the mild and aftectionate tenets of Christianity. It 
is not easy to say what might have been the consequence of the prox- 
imity of two establishments influenced by characters and modes of 
thinking so antagonist, had not the conquest of the Dutch territories 
of New York bound them together, by the means of a people who 
came from England at a later day, and who brought with them most 
of the nationartraits,less influenced by exaggerations and accidents. 
The result has been an amalgamation that is fast wearing off asperi- 
ties, and which promises, at no distant period, to produce a homo- 
geneity of character that it is not usual to find in any great and 
numerous people. 

The vessels employed in the earliest communications between the 
colonies and the mother country, were small, varying from fifty to 
two hundred tons in burthen. The expedition to Plymouth was first 
attempted in the May Flower, a bark of one hundred and eighty 
ions and the Speedwell of sixty tons; but the lattfer proving leaky, 



1613-14.] NAVAL HISTORY. 15 

after twice returning to port to refit, was abandoned, and the voyage 
was made in the former vessel alone. That to Virginia under New- 
port, consumed four months, a delay that was owing to its steering 
south until the trades were struck, a practice which prevailed among 
most of the navigators to the new world, for a longtime subsequently 
to the discoveries of Columbus, wlio had himself been favoured by 
those constant winds. The May Flower sailed from Plymouth, in 
England, on the 6th of September, and, after a stormy passage, 
made Cape Cod on the 9th of November. As it had been the 
intention of those on board to go further south, it is probable that 
they met with southwest winds and currents, with a northeasterly 
set, in the American seas. 

The first conflict that took place between the colonists and any 
of their civilised neighbours, occurred in 1613, when an expedition 
fi*om Virginia, under the orders of Captain Samuel Argal, arriving 
on the coast of Nova Scotia, made an attack on the new French 
post of St. Sauveur, which was reduced without difficulty. Argal 
had eleven vessels with liim, most of which, however, were quite 
small, and his armaments amounted in the whole to fourteen light 
guns-. The French were entirely Avithout artillery. The avowed 
object of this enterprise was fishing, but the armament has induced 
a suspicion that the end actually effected was also kept in view. 
Whatever might have been the intention in fitting out the first force 
under Captain Argal, it is quite certain, that, on his return to Virginia, 
he was formally sent against the French in Acadie, with three vessels, 
better prepared, and that he laid waste the whole of their posses- 
sions. Both of these occurrences took place in a time of profound 
peace, and grew out of a pretension on the part of the English, to 
the possession of the whole coast, as far north as the 46th degree 
of latitude. 

On his return to Virginia, Captain Argal entered the bay of New 
York, and demanded possession of that territory also, under the plea 
that it had been discovered by an Englishman. Hendrick Christaens, 
whom Argal styled "a pretended Dutch Governor," had no force to 
resist such a claim, and was compelled to submit. On the return to 
Virginia, one of the three vessels employed in this expedition was 
lost, and another having been driven as far east as the Azores, pro- 
ceeded to England, while Captain Argal alone got into the Chesa- 
peake. The prisoners taken on this occasion narrowly escaped 
being executed as pirates ! 

This was the first warlike maritime expedition attempted by the 
American colonists, if a few parties sent in boats against the savages 
be excepted. The Dutch were not dispossessed by the useless attempt 
on their settlement, which appears to have been viewed more as a 
protest than a conquest, for they continued to increase and to govern 
themselves for near half a century longer. The first decked vessel 
built within the old United States, of which we have any account, 
was constructed by Schipper Adrian Block, on the banks of the 
Hudson, and probably within the present limits of New York, during 
the summer of 1614. This vessel De Laet terms a " yacht," and 



16 NAVAL HISTORY. [1614 



describes as liaving been of the dimensions of thirty-eight feet keel, 
forty-four and a half feet on deck, and eleven feet beam. In this 
"yacht" Block passed through Hell Gate, into the Sound, and 
steering eastward, he discovered a small island, which he named 
after himself; going as far as Cape Cod, by the way of the Vineyard 
passage. 

According to the same authority, the Dutch at New Amsterdam, 
who had constructed a fort, and reinforced their colony, soon after 
built many more small vessels, sloops and periaguas, opening a trade 
with the savages, by means of the numerous bays, sounds, ahd rivers 
of their territory. 

It was also in 1614, that the celebrated Capt. John Smith arrived 
from England, and sailed on a coasting voyage, with the double 
purpose of trade and discovery. He went himself in a boat, having 
a crew of only eight men, and the profits, as well as the discoveries, 
abundantly rewarded the risks. ■ 

It may serve to give the reader a more accurate idea of the condition 
of trade in this part of the world, if we state that in 1615 the English 
alone had one hundred and seventy vessels engaged in the New- 
foundland fisheries, while the French, Portuguese, and Spaniards 
had altogether about three hundred. 

Many attempts were made about this time to discover a northwest 
passage to China ; the Avell known expedition in which Bafiin was 
employed occurring in 1616. 

After the settlement at Plymouth, the English colonies began to 
increase regularly in population and resources, while the Dutch at 
New York became firmly established. The Swedes also commenced 
a settlement in the Delaware, and the entire coast, from Acadie to 
North Carolina, Avas more or less occupied from point to point. 
There Avas a good deal of trade Avith the Indians, Avith Avhom wam- 
pum Avas exchanged against peltries. As early as in 1629 the Ncav 
England Company employed five ships of respectable size, in the 
trade Avith the colony. Most of these vessels Avere armed, and all 
took colonists in their outAvard passages. The May FloAver appears 
to have been retained in this business for many years after her first 
voyage. A small ship Avas built at or near Boston, in 1633, Avhich 
was one of the first vessels, if not the first vessel of any size con- 
structed in Ncav England. But the progress of the colony of Mas- 
sachusetts Bay, in navigation, Avas so rapid, that in 1639, laAvs were 
passed to encourage the fisheries, Avhich may be considered as the 
elementary school of American nautical enterprise. The fishermen 
during the season, and the shipwrights at all times, Avere exempted 
from military duty, a great privilege in an infant community that Avas 
surrounded by savages. Among those Avho gave an impulse to tirade 
and navigation in this colony, was the celebrated Hugh Peters, sub- 
sequently executed for treason in England, aa'Iio actually caused a 
vessel of three hundred tons burthen to be constructed at Salem, 
in 1641. 

Within twenty years after the settlement of Plymouth, ship-build- 
ing and navigation began to occupy much of the attention of New 



1633-36.] NAVAL HISTORY. 17 

EnHand, and as every vessel of any size earned many light guns, 
the navigation of the period had most of the characteristics of an 
armed trade. In addition to the ships and barks that crossed the 
ocean, many decked boats, oi- small sloops, were used on the coast, 
especially by those who deak with the Indians for skins. The first 
engagement that probably ever occurred between inhabitants of the 
American colonies, and enemies afloat, was a conflict between John 
Gallop, who was engaged in a trade of this nature, in a sloop of twenty 
tons, and some Narragansctt Indians, who had seized upon a small 
vessel belonging to a person of the name of Oldham, known to have 
been similarly occupied. As this, in a certain sense, may be deemed 
the earliest sea-fight of the nation, we consider it worthy to be 
related. 

Some time in May, 1G3G, Gallop, in his little sloop, manned by 
two men and two boys, himself included, was standing along the 
Sound, near Plum Island, when he was compelled by stress of weath- 
er to bear up, for a refuge, among the islands that form a chain be- 
tween Long Island and Connecticut. On nearing the land, he 
discovered a vessel very similar to his own, in size and ecpiipments, 
which was immediately recognised as the pinnace of Mr. Oldham, 
who had sailed with a crew of two white boys and two Narragansctt 
Indians. Gallop hailed on approaching the other craft, but got no 
answer, and, running still nearer, no less than fourteen Indians were 
discovered lying on her deck. A canoe, conveying goods, and 
manned by Indians, had also just started for the shore. Gallop now 
began to suspect that Oldham had been overpowered by the savages; 
a suspicion that was confirmed by the Indians slipping their cable, 
and standing ofl" before the wind, or in the direction of Narragansctt 
Bay. Satisfied that a robbery had been committed. Gallop matle 
sail in chase, and running alongside of the pinnace, in a spirited 
manner, he fired a volley of duck-shot at the savages. The latter 
had swords, spears, and some fire-arms, and they attempted a re- 
sistance, but Gallop soon drove them below to a man. Afraid to 
board in the foce of such odds, Gallop now had recourse to a novel 
expedient to dislodge his enemies. As the pinnace was drifting with 
no one to manage her, she soon fell to leeward, while the sloop 
hauled by the wind. As soon as the two vessels were far enough 
asunder. Gallop put his helm up and ran directly down on the 
weather quarter of the pinnace, striking her with so much violence 
as to come near forcing her over on her side. The shock so much 
alarmed the Indians, who were on an element and in a craft they did 
not understand, that six of them rushed frantically on deck, and 
leaped into the sea, where they were all drowned. The sloop again 
hauled off", when Gallop lashed an anchor to her bows in such a 
manner, that by running down on the pinnace a second time, he 
forced the flukes through the sides of the latter, which are represented 
as having been made of boards. The two vessels were now fast to 
each other, and the crew of the sloop began to fire through the sides 
of the pinnace, into her hold. Finding it impossible, however, to 
drive his enemies up. Gallop loosened his fasts, and hauled up to 

VOL. I. 2 



18 NAVAL HISTORY. [1636. 

windward a third time, when four or five more of the Indians jumped 
overboard and shared the fate of those who had preceded them. 
One Indian now appeared on deck and offered to submit. Gallop 
ran alongside, and received this man in the sloop, when he was bound 
hands and feet, and put into the hold. Another soon followed this 
example, and he was also received on board the sloop and bound, 
but, fearful if two of his wily foes were permitted to commune to- 
gether, that they would liberate themselves, the second prisoner was 
thrown into the sea. Only two Indians noAV remained in the pinnace. 
They had got into a small apartment below, and being armed, they 
showed a disposition to defend themselves, when Gallop i-emoved 
all the goods that remained, into his own sloop, stripped the pinnace 
of her sails, took her in tow, and hauled up for the islands again. 
But the wind increasing, the pinnace was cut adrift, and she disap- 
peared in the direction of Narragansett Bay, where it is probable she 
was stranded in the course of a few hours. 

On board the pinnace, Gallop found the body of Mr. Oldham. 
The head had been cleft, the hands and legs were much mangled, 
and the flesh was still warm. The corpse was thrown into the 
sea. 

Thus terminated this extraordinary conflict, in which Gallop ap- 
pears to have shown as much conduct as courage, and which in itself 
illustrates the vast superiority that professional skill gives on an 
element like the sea. As it was of the last importance to create a 
respect for the English name, with a view to protect small parties 
while trading with the savages, the report of the conqueror on this 
occasion induced the government of Massachusetts to send an ex- 
pedition against the offenders, under Mr. Endecott, one of the as- 
sistants, which did the Indians much injury in the destruction of 
their dwellings and crops, though the savages themselves took to 
flight. This expedition, however, was followed up by others that 
met with greater success. 

The French in Acadie, also, gave rise to two or three unimportant 
armaments, which led to no results worthy of being recorded. 

Notwithstanding the frequency of the Indian conflicts, and the 
repeated visits to the settlements of the French, the first regular 
cruisers employed by the American colonists appear to have owed 
their existence to misunderstandings with the Dutch of the New 
Netherlands. The colony of New Haven had so far increased as to 
cause a vessel of one hundred and fifty tons to be built in Rhode 
Island, as early as the year 1646, but the ship was lost at sea on her 
first passage. Shortly after, a small cruiser, carrying ten guns, and 
forty men, was employed by the united colonies of Hartford and 
New Haven, to cruise in Long Island Sound, with a view to prevent 
the enchroachments of the Dutch, and to keep open the communi- 
cation with the settlements they had made on the opposite shore. In 
1654, orders were received from Parliament to treat the Dutch as 
enemies, but both communities were still too young and fi'eble to 
•engage in a warfare that was not considered of paramount necessity. 



1678.] NAVAL HISTORY. 19 

Nothing effective appears to have been done under these instruc- 
tions. 

At a later day, or in 1665-6, Connecticut kept another small 
vessel cruising off Watch Hill, in order to prevent the Narragansett 
Indians from crossing to attack the Montauk tribe, which had been 
taken under the protection of the colony. 

In 1645, a ship of some size was built at Cambridge, Massachu- 
setts, and receiving an armament of fourteen guns, and a crew of 
thirty men, she sailed for the Canary Isles. This vessel fell in with 
a rover, supposed to belong to Barbary, of twenty guns, and i n^enty 
men, when an action took place that continued the entire day. The 
rover receiving some serious injury to her rudder, the New England 
ship was enabled to escape. Although the conflict between Gallop 
and the Narragansetts is, in one sense, entitled to the precedency, 
this action may be set down as the first regular naval combat in which 
any American vessel is known to have been engaged. 

An important change occurred, in 1664, in the situation of the 
American colonies, by the capture of New Netherlands from the 
Dutch. The vessels employed on this service Avere under the orders 
of Sir Robert Carr, while Colonel Richard Nicoll commanded the 
troops. No resistance was made. In consequence of this accession 
of territory, and the submission of the Swedish settlements on the 
Delaware, the English Colonies now had entire possession of the 
coast, between the Bay of Fundy and the Floridas. It had been 
computed, in 1660, that the English settlements contained about 
eighty thousand souls, and this increase of numbers made a total of 
more than one hundred thousand inhabitants of European extrac- 
tion. New England paid the most attention to navigation, however; 
and it appears by Hutchinson, that in 1676, or just a century before 
the declaration of Independence, the following vessels had been 
constructed in Boston, or its vicinity, and then belonged to the ports 
of that neighbourhood, viz: 

30 vessels between 100 and 250 tons. 
200 vessels between 50 and -100 tons. 
200 vessels between 30 and 50 tons. 
300 vessels between 6 and 10 tons. 

Most of the small vessels were employed in the fisheries, and the 
ordinary communications between the settlements on the coast were 
kept up by water. The principal building stations were Boston, 
Charlestown, Salem, Ipswich, Salisbury, and Portsmouth, and there 
were even at that early day, thirty master shipwrights. 

While the English were thus occupying the coast, the French 
were gradually extending themselves along the chain of Great Lakes 
in the interior, drawing a belt around the territories of their rivals. 
In the course of events of this nature, de la Salle launched a vessel 
often tons on Lake Ontario, in 1678, which was the first decked 
boat that ever sailed on those waters. The following year, he caused 
a vessel of sixty tons to be launched on Lake Erie.* 

* The second vessel is differently stated to have been of ten and of sixty tons. We 
have chosen what has appeared to be the best authority. 



20 NAVAL HISTORY. 1678.] 



In IG80, according to Trunihnll, Connecticut possessed twenty-fou. 
vessels, with a total of 1050 tons, trading- between that colony and 
Boston, Newfoundland, tlie West Indies, &c. &.c. The succeeding 
year, forty-nine vessels entered the harbour of Portsmouth alone. 
The well known navigation act, a law to confine the carrying trade 
to English ships, had been passed as early as 16-51, but it had been 
little regarded by the colonists; and this year Edmund Randolph 
came a second time to Boston, where he made a vigorous but un- 
successful eifort to enforce the obnoxious statute. In Massaclnisetts, 
in particular, this law had been almost a dead letter from the first, 
though tlie Dutch in New Netherlands had thought it necessary to 
insert a clause in their articles of capitulation, to permit them to 
trade with Holland for six months after the surrender. 

The buccaneers began to commit depredations in the American 
seas, about the year 1666; and piracies on a smaller scale, were 
not infrequent at a much earlier day. These buccaneers were orig- 
inally, mere outlaws in the West India Islands. Compelled at length 
to unite, they assembled at the Tortugas, and began to plunder such 
vessels as approached the shore; most of their robberies being com- 
mitted by means of open boats. The Spanish vessels, in particular, 
became the objects of their assaults; and encouraged by success, 
they began to venture farther from the land. Their numbers rapidly 
increased, and ere long they ventured to make descents on the coasts, 
more especially on those of the Spanish settlement, inquest of plun- 
der. It is a mark of the peculiar character of the age, that these 
freebooters often commenced their enterprises with prayer! They 
spent their ill-gotten wealth as profligately as it had been obtained, 
and like more jjowerful bodies of men, were finally destroyed by the 
excesses engendered by their own prosperity. 

We do not know that there is authority for believing these free- 
booters ever liad any material connexion with the English continental 
possessions, though Jamaica, at one period, Avas thronged by them. 
There are, however, too many traditions on the coast, not to suspect 
that some of the excesses, to which the loose condition of the western 
world gave rise, were less ostentatiously committed by those who 
frequented the country. The same odium was not then attached to 
piratical acts, as in our own times; and that which even we ourselves 
have seen done on the bind, by men styled heroes, was then com- 
mitted on the water, almost without comment. 

The first authentic account we possess of a regular attempt to 
suppress piracy on the American coast, is found in Winthrop's 
Journal, and it occurred as early as in the year 1632. A bark of 
thirty tons burthen had been launched the previous year, at Mistick, 
which was called the Blessing of the Bay, and which was converted 
into a cruiser for the occasion to which we allude. Information had 
reached the goverinnent of the colony that one David Bull, who had 
fifteen jnore Englishmen with him, had committed divei's acts of 
piracy among the fishermen at the eastward, and that lie also liad 
plundered a settlement on shore. This expedition, however, was 
suspended in consequence of intelligence having been received that 



1633-42.] NAVAL HISTORY. 21 

the people of the boast had manned several pinnaces and shallops 
and gone in quest of the marauders themselves. Several months 
elapsed before any thing conclusive could be ascertained concerning 
Bull and his party, and in January, 1633, another fruitless expedition, 
that had been sent after them, returned, as did a third in May. One 
of the proofs of a lawless disposition adduced against Bull, is to be 
found in a report of his conduct, wherein it is stated that, at the hour 
when the people of other ships were accustomed to assemble for 
prayer, his followers would meet on deck, to sing songs and utter 
senseless phrases. It is probable that this party was composed of 
fur-traders from Virginia, and that their conduct appeared to the 
puritans of the east so light, in general, that some trifling excesses 
were misconstrued into piracy. 

Another insignificant aflair that occurred at the New Netherlands 
was turned into piracy ; a Captain Stone having been seized, and 
bound over to appear at the Admiralty Court in England; but the 
proceedings were dropped in consequence of the belief that the whole 
transaction would turn out to be little more than a mere assault. 
This occurred also in 1633; and there is some reason to believe 
that the exaggerations of the puritans had misled them, from the 
fact that this Captain Stone was arrested for adultery before he 
left the colony, and that the grand jury returned the bill igno- 
ramus. 

It appears by the Journal of Governor Winthrop, that in 1642, 
one Edward Bedall, of Boston, used the Diving Bell to weigh a 
vessel called the Mary Rose, which had sunk the previous year. 
Bedall made use of two tubs, " upon which were hanged so manv 
weights (600 lbs.) as would sink them to the ground." The experi- 
ment succeeded perfectly, and the guns, ballast, goods, hull, «fec., 
were all transported into shoal water, and recovered. The tirst 
instance of a diving bell's being used, was at Cadiz, we believe, 
in the presence of Charles V.; the notion, so prevalent in this 
country, that it was an invention of Sir William Phipps, being an 
error. 

Towards the close of the seventeenth century, the shipping of 
the American colonies had so far increased, as to supply the 
mother country with many transports, and to conduct no small 
part of the trade between the two great divisions of the empire. 
The Whale Fishery at Nantucket, appears to have been established 
in 1690 ; and in 1696, it is said that the shipping of New York 
amounted to forty square-rigged vessels, sixty-two sloops, and sixty 
boats. 

In consequence of the great number of privateers that sailed out 
of Acadie, the general court of Massachusetts sent an expedition 
asfainst Port Royal, in 1690. The forces were commanded by Sir 
William Phipps, and amounted to between 700 and 800 men, who 
were embarked in eight small vessels. This expedition sailed on 
the 23tli of April, and returned on the 30th of May, having been 
successful. The good fortune that attended this enterprise, induced 
the government of Massachusetts to attempt another against a 



NAVAL HISTORY. [1690. 



place as important as Quebec. Sir William Phipps* again com- 
manded, having between thirty and forty vessels, the largest of which 
was of 44 guns, and 200 men, and the whole number of the troops 
and seamen employed was about 2000. These forces reached 
Quebec, October the 5th, 1690, and landed, October the 8th. The 
force disembarked was about 12 or 1300 men, but it was repulsed 
without much fighting. On their return to Boston, the ships were 
dispersed by a gale, and little credit was gained by the undertaking. 

The Falkland, a fourth rate, was launched in the Piscataqua, in 
1C90, and was the first ship of the line ever built in America. 

Much alarm existed along the coast, about this time, fi-oni an 
apprehension of the French, who were understood to be cruising in 
the American seas. We learn, indeed, fi-om the whole history of that 
period, how nearly balanced were the naval powers of Europe; 
England, France, Spain, and Holland, standing in mutual awe of 
each other, on the high seas. 

* Sir William Phipps was born at Pemaquid, in 1650. Until eighteen years of age, 
he ■was principally employod in agricultural pursuits, and subsequently lie was appren- 
ticed to a shipwright. When of age, he built a ship at Sheepscote ; he afterwards 
followed the .sea, and hearing of a Spanish wreck near the Bahamas, he gave such 
accounts of it in England, that he was sent out with a frigate, to obtain its treasure. In 
this affair he ■was unsuccessful. The Duke of Albemarle, however, sent him out a 
second time, (1687,) when he brought home near i'300,000, of which his own share 
amounted to i 16,000. This trans.action brought him into notice, and he was knighted by 
James II. He had been made High Sheriff of New England previou.sly, and he was 
made Governor of his native colony in 1691 ; but havina: had a quarrel, in 16!)3, with a 
Captain Short, of the Nonsuch frigate, about the extent of his Vice-Admiralty jurisdiction, 
he had that officer arrested and sent to England. On the representation of Captain 
Short, the Governor was summoned to England in person to answer for his conduct in 
this affair, and having justified himself, he was about to return to his government, when 
he ■was seized with a malignant fever, and died in Loudon. Some accounts place hia 
death in 1694, and others in 1695; we believe the latter to be the most correct. He is 
said to have been honest, well-meaning and religious, though passionate and imperious. 
He was uneducated of course, not knowing how to read and write, until he had become 
a man ; but acquaintance with the world, considerable native abilities, and a restless 
enterprise had early brought him into conspicuous stations, where he usually acquitted 
himself with credit. The popular American opinion, that the Mulgrave family, of which 
the present head is the Marquess of Normauby, is descended from Sir William Pliippa, 
is a mistake 



1700.] NAVAL HISTORY. 



CHAPTER 11. 

Captain Kidd Population of Colonic'! Attack on Charleston by the Spaniards they 

are repulsed with great loss Port Royal reduced its name changed to Anapolis 

New Providence captured Pirates expelled First negro slaves brought into the 

country First American vessel engaged in the slave trade — The Whale fisheries 

Shipping of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. ...Small armed vessels employed.... 
Wars between England and Spain and France....eftects on the American colonies — 
Expedition against Louisbourg.... Vessels captured — Acadie (now Nova Scotia) 
ceded to England. 

The close of the seventeenth century found the American coast, 
in a great measure, occupied from the Bay of Fuudy to the Sa- 
vannah river. The war, which terminated willi the peace of Rys- 
wick, had greatly alarmed the colonists, and many small cruisers 
and galleys had been built and armed, at different ports, principally 
with a view to cruise against the privateers that sailed out of Acadie 
and the West Indies; but no action appears to have occurred at sea. 
The two expeditions of Sir William Phipps were the most important 
military operations that had then taken place in the colonies, if the 
Indian wars be excepted; and they led to nothing worthy of com- 
memoration, in a naval point of view. The royal cruisers that oc- 
casionally appeared in the American seas, at that remote period, 
were usually light frigates, of a class between the present sloops and 
tAVo-and-thirties, and in point of armament, and even of size, were 
probably unequal to contending with the largest of the former. We 
have seen that one of Sir William Phipps's ships, in the expedition 
against Quebec, carried 44 guns and 200 men, a disproportion be- 
tween the crew and the armament, that proves the latter to have 
been exceedingly light. In that age, the importance of metal was 
not appreciated ; and the decks of vessels were crowded with guns, 
which did so little execution, that great naval battles frequently con- 
tinued days without producing decisive results. 

The close of the seventeenth century was also the period when 
the piracies had got to be the most serious, and when Kidd was guilty 
of those acts that have since given him a notoriety that would seem 
to be altogether disproportioned to his deeds. During the wars of 
that day, the seas had been much infested with a species of privateers, 
that often committed aggressions, and even piracies on neutral ves- 
sels. Most of these rovers were English; and it is said that they 
sometimes plundered their own countrymen. ' New York was not 
entirely exempt fi'om the suspicion of having equipped several 
vessels of this description, and very unpleasant surmises affected the 
characters of some distinguished men of the colony, the governor, 
Fletcher, among others. In appreciating such charges, it is neces- 
sary to remember the character of the age, there being no disgrace 
^attached to adventures in private armed ships, and the transition from 
fighting for plunder, and plundering unlawfully, is very trifling, in 



24 NAVAL HISTORY. 1700.] 

remote seas, vrhere testimony is not easily obtained, and the law is 
impotent. That which men can practise with impunity, they are 
apt to undertake, when tempted by cupidity; and that whicli is 
frequent, ceases to shock the sense of right. It is by no means 
probable that either Governor Fletcher, or any distinguished colonist, 
deliberately engaged in piratical adventures, but it is quite possible 
that such men may have been concerned in the equipment of private 
cruisers, that subsequently committed acts which the laws condemned. 
It is possible, that when such vessels have returned, a rigid inquiry 
into the origin of the plunder they brought with them, was not al- 
ways made. Such, in some measure, was the case with Ridd, whose 
subsequent notoriety appears to have been as much owing to the 
eclat v/ith which he sailed, sanctioned by government, and supported 
by men of character, and to some striking incidents that accompanied 
his return, as to any extraordinary excesses as a pirate. The facts 
of his case appear to have been as follows : 

Much odium having been cast on the colony of New York, in 
consequence of the number of piracies that had been committed by 
rovers sailing from the port of that name, the government in England 
deemed it necessary to take serious measures to repress the evil. — 
This duty was in particular confided to the Earl of Bellamont, who 
had been appointed the governor of several of the colonies. Mr. 
Robert Livingston happening to be in England at the time when the 
subject was under discussion, and being a man of influence in the 
colony of New York, he was conferred with, as to the most advisable 
means of putting an end to the practice. Mr. Livingston advised that 
a cruiser of force should be sent out expressly to seize all lawless 
rovers, and he introduced to Lord Bellamont, Captain Wm. Kidd, 
whom he recommended as a seaman qualified to be put at the head 
of such an adventure. Captain Ridd was said to have a knowledge 
of the pirates, and of their places of resort; and at the same time, to 
be a man on whose integrity and services full reliance might be placed. 
The first proposition was to employ a king's ship of 30 guns and 150 
men on this service; but the war requiring all the regular cruisers, it 
is a proof of the spirit of the times, that the matter was referred to 
private enterprise, although the sanction of government was not only 
promised, but obtained. Mr. Livingston took one-fifth of the shares, 
and became the usual security for the lawfulness of Ridd's proceed- 
ings. The Lord Chancellor, and several other distinguished noble- 
men, took shares in the adventure also, and the crown reserved to 
itself a tenth of the proceeds, as a proof that it approved of the en- 
terprise. Ridd received his commission and his orders from the 
Earl of Bellamont, whom he followed to America for that purpose, 
sailing from Plymouth in England, April 1696, for New York. 
There is much. reason for thinking that Captain Ridd was not guilty 
of any illegal act himself, until he found that his more legitimate en- 
terprise was not likely to be successful. In the end, however, he 
went to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, where he certainly 
committed piracies, though to what extent is now questionable. He 
^vas accused of ravaging the sea between Madagascar and the coast, 



1701.] NAVAL HISTORY. 25 

from Babelmandel to Malabar, and of committing the usual excesses, 
though it is probable that there was much exaggeration mixed up 
with the histories and rumors of the day. Some accounts confine 
his piracies to a single ship, though it is more than probable that he 
had a disposition to the vocation, and that he was easily diverted 
from the object with which he had sailed, even if he did not con- 
template piracy on quitting port. After an absence of about three 
years, Kidd returned to the American coast, first appearing off" the 
east end of Long Island. About thirty miles to the westward of 
Montauk, protected from the ocean by the southern branch of the 
island just mentioned, is a capacious bay that obtains its name from 
anotlier small island, which is so placed as to defend it against the 
northeast gales. The latter island contains ahout three thousand 
acres of land, and ever since the country has been settled, or for two 
centuries, it has been the property of an honourable family of the 
name of Gardiner, which has given its name to both the island and 
the bay. The latter has an anchorage that has long been known to 
seamen, and into Gardiner's Bay Kidd sailed on this occasion. 
Anchoring near the island, he landed, and buried some treasures; 
entrusting 3Ir. Gardiner with his secret, and making the life of the 
latter the pledge of his fidelity. This effected, the pirate again sailed, 
and made similar deposits on other parts of the coast. 

After a short interval, Kidd paid and discharged his crew, and it 
is said burned his ship. He appeared in Boston in 1G99, and was 
immediately seized by the order of Governor Bellamont. Among 
his papers was found a record, containing lists of his several deposits, 
which it is probable he held in reserve for his own share of the 
booty, when he should have made his peace with those in power with 
the remainder. The authorities, however, were inflexible, and com- 
missioners were immediately sent in quest of the buried booty. When 
these persons presented themselves to Mr. Gardiner, and assured him 
that Kidd was in confinement, that gentleman led them to the spot 
where the box was concealed, and it was recovered. The papers 
of the Gardiner family show that the contents of the box were bags 
of gold dust, bags of gold bars, the latter to a considerable amount, 
coined gold and silver, silver bars, precious stones, silver lamps, &,c., 
&c., in all to the amount of near twenty thousand dollars. Most, 
if not all, of the other deposits were also obtained. Kidd was sent 
to England, tried and condemned. He Avas not executed, however, 
until May the 9th, 1701. Notwithstanding the acts just related, it 
would seem that his conviction was, in reality, for murdering one 
of his own crew. 

It followed, almost as a matter of course, that suspicion rested on 
those who were concerned in sending Captain Kidd to sea. The 
usual profligacy of party was exhibited in an attempt to impeach 
several noblemen concerned in the aflair ; and one or two men of 
note in the colony of New York wei-e also involved in legal proceed- 
ings, in consequence of these piracies ; but nothing was ever estab- 
lished against any of the accused, though Governor Fletcher fell into 
disgrace at home. The known fact that Kidd buried treasure, gave 



26 NAVAL HISTORY. [1702-12. 

rise to rumours that he had buried much that was never discovered. 
With the bhndness usual in matters of this sort, it was behevcd that 
he had secreted his gold in spots that he never visited, and to this day 
it is not unfrequent for diggings to be made on the coast, under the 
influence of dreams that have been occasioned by meditating on the 
subject, and in the hope of finding some of the long lost riches. 

The year that Kidd was sent to England, seven pirates were exe- 
cuted in Charleston, South Carolina, that coast having been much 
infested with these robbers. 

In 1701, the population of the American colonies was estimated 
at 263,000, while the Newfoundland fisheries were said to employ 
121 vessels, 2,700 men, and nearly 8,000 tons. 

Another war soon occurring, the troubles on the coast were re- 
vived, and as the colonies grew in importance, the mother country 
not only extended her care towards them in a greater degree, but the 
people of the provinces themselves, felt a disposition to participate 
more largely in the struggles. Still, so little heed was taken against 
the ordinary dangers, that the port of New York, in 1705, was to- 
tally without defence ; or so nearly so, that a solitary French priva- 
teer entered it, and caused the greatest consternation. 

The Spaniards, with whom England was at war, conceiving that 
South Carolina properly belonged to the Floridas, undertook an ex- 
pedition against Charleston, in 170G, with four ships of war and a 
galley, commanded by a French admiral. A commission of vice- 
admiral was immediately given to Lieut. Col. Rhett, a gentleman 
who possessed the public confidence. Mr. Rhett hoisted his flag in 
the Crown, galley, and several ships that happened to be in port, 
were hastily manned and armed. In the mean time the enemy had 
arrived and surrounded the place, but meeting with some repulses 
on shore, Mr. Rhett got under way to engage the hostile squadron, 
when the latter retired with precipitation. The Spaniards are said 
to have lost near half their men in this unsuccesful undertaking. 

Hearing of a large enemy's ship on the coast, a few days after the 
fleet had disappeared, Mr. Rhett went in quest ofher with two small 
vessels, and succeeded in capturing her, and in bringing in ninety 
prisoners. 

From an early day the possession of Port Royal in Acadie, ap- 
pears to have been a favorite object with the colonists, most probably 
from the great interest they felt in the fisheries. We have already 
seen that expeditions were sent against this place, in the earlier 
wars, while we now find no less than three undertaken, with the 
same object, in the war of 1702 — 12. The first of these expeditions 
was set on foot in 1707, being almost purely of colonial origin. It 
sailed in May, in twenty-three transports and whale-boats, under the 
convoy of the Dcptford man-of-war. Captain Stuckley, accompanied 
by the Province, galley. Captain Southack. This expedition ef- 
fected nothing. The second attempt was not made until the year 
1709, when an enterprise on a larger scale was planned. Accord- 
ing to Trumbull, the colonies east of Connecticut were ordered to 
raise 1,200 men for this undertaking, and to provide transports, pi- 



1711.] NAVAL HISTORY. 27 

lots, and provisions for three months, while Connecticut itself and 
the more southern provinces, were to send a force of 1,500 men, by 
land, against Montreal. The maritime part of the expedition was 
abandoned, after waiting three months in the port of Boston for the 
British ships that were to convoy it, and to aid in subduing the place. 
The attack on Montreal was also given up, for the want of the ex- 
pected co-operation. The third attempt was made in 1710, when 
a Colonel Nicholson, of the English service, Avas entrusted with the 
connnand. On this occasion the preparations were made conjointly 
by the crown and the provinces, the latter furnishing the transports 
and several cruisers. The fleet consisted in all, of 36 sail : viz. 
three fourth-rates, two fifth-rates, live frigates, a bomb ketch, the 
Province, galley, and twenty-four transports. In these vessels were 
embarked a regiment of marines, and five regiments of provincials. 
The expedition sailed from Boston on the 18tli of September, ar- 
rived oif Port Royal on the 24th, and on the 1st of October the place 
submitted. Its name was changed to Annapolis, by which appella- 
tion it is yet known. Stimulated by this success, a still more im]>or- 
tant attempt was got up in 1711, against the French possessions on 
the banks of the St. Lawrence. England now appeared dis])osed to 
put forth her power in earnest, and a fleet of fifteen sail, twelve of 
which were sent directly from England, and three of which had been 
stationed on the coast, were put under.the orders of Vice-admiral Sir 
Hovenden Walker, for that purpose. In this fleet were several 
ships of the line, and it was acconi])anied by forty transports and six 
store vessels. Five of the veteran regiments that had served under 
Marlborough, were sent out wirh the fleet, and two regiments raised 
in New England beinij added to them, the land forces amounted to 
between 6,000 and 7,000 men. 

iVfter considerable delay, the fleet sailed on the 30th of July, 171 1, 
when the (iovernor of Massachusetts ordered a fast to be observed 
every Thursday, until the result should be known. On the lltli of 
August the ships entered the St. Lawrence, and on the 18th the admi- 
ral, in order to collect his transports, put into the bay of Gaspe. Here 
he remained until the 20th, wlien the fleet ])roceeded. On the 20th 
the ships were oft" soundings, out of sight of land, and enveloped in 
a fog, with a gale at E. S. E. The fleet now brought-to with the 
ships' heads to the southward. Notwithstanding this precaution, it 
Avas soon discovered that the whole of them were in imminent jeop- 
ardy among the rocks, islands, and currents of the north-shore, which 
was, moreover, a lee shore. Some of the vessels saved themselves 
by anchoring, among which was the Edgar, 70, the admiral's own 
ship : but eight transports were lost, together with <a thousand peo[)le, 
and the expedition was abandoned. The admiral now dismissed the 
provincial troops aiul vessels, and sailed for England with the re- 
mainder of the fleet. These signal disasters led to loud com|)laints 
and to bitter recriminations between the English and American offi- 
cers. To the latter was attributed a fatal loss of time, w raising their 
levies and making other ])reparations, which brought the expedition 
too late in the season, and they were also accused of furnishing in- 



28 NAVAL HISTORY. [1717. 

competent pilots. It is probable that the first accusation was not 
without foundation, since it has been a known national failino- to de- 
fer all military preparations to the latest possible moment, from the 
day the country has been peopled ; though the last was no doubt un- 
merited, as there could be no motiv^e for furnishing any other ])ilots 
than the best that the colonies possessed. On the part of the Ameri- 
cans, the admiral, and the English commanders in general, were 
said to be opinionated and indisposed to take advice ; a charge 
quite as likely to be true, as it also accords with national character, 
and more especially with the superciliousness with which the English 
were known to regard the provincials. The admiral threw the re- 
sponsibility of having hove-to the fleet on the pilots, who, in their 
turn, declared that it was done contrary to their advice. Some 
French pilots are said, by Charlevoix, to have warned the admiral 
of his danger also, but he equally disregarded their information. It 
is in favour of the provincials, that, one small victualler excepted, 
none of their own vessels were lost, and that the crew of this vic- 
tualler was saved. Many of the pilots were sent to England to be 
examined before the Privy Council, but no investigation into the af- 
fair took place. The loss of the admiral's papers is thought to have 
put an end to the contemplated inquiry, the Edgar having been 
blown up, by accident, at Plymouth, shortly after her return, by 
which event 400 men lost their lives ; thus terminating a most dis- 
astrous expedition by a dire calamity. It ought to be mentioned, 
that the colonies met the charge of delay, by showing that the orders 
to raise troops, and to make the other requisite preparations, were 
received only sixteen days before Sir Hovenden Walker arrived in 
port with his fleet. 

As late as the year 1713, Trumbull enumerates the shipping of 
Connecticut at only 2 brigs, 20 sloops, and a number of smaller craft. 
The seamen he estimates at 120 ! On the other hand, the com- 
merce of Massachusetts, as appears by the custom-house returns, 
taken between the years 1714 and 1717, employed 25,406 tons of 
shipping, 492 vessels, and 3493 sea-faring persons. The first 
schooner, a description of vessel now so much in use in America as 
almost to be deemed national, is said to have been built at Cape Ann, 
by Captain Henry Robinson, in 1714. Her name has been unfor- 
tunately lost. 

The pirates rather increased than diminished after the peace of 
1713, frequenting the American coast much more than had been 
their practice in the preceding century. They had reached to New 
Providence, whence they proceeded both north and south, in their 
predatory excursions. Samuel Bellamy, in the ship Whidali, of 23 
guns and 139 men, was one of the most formidable of these free- 
booters, and he even had the audacity to come oft" the coast of New 
England, in 1717, where he made several prizes. At length he was 
wrecked, with his captured vessels, on Cape Cod, and most of the 
gang were lost. More than a hundred bodies washed ashore, and 
six of those who escaped were seized, tried at Boston and executed. 
The following year, the celebrated Captain Woods Rogers, so well 



• ft 



1678.] NAVAL HISTORY. 29 

known for his exploits on the Spanish Main, was sent against Nevr 
Providence, with a small squadron of King's ships, carrying a pro- 
clamation of pardon to all those who would abandon their lawless 
practices, and return to honest industry. The island was captured 
without resistance, and possession taken for the English crown. 
Most of the freebooters accepted of the amnesty, though a party of 
ninety, under the command of one Vane, seized a sloop, and made 
their escape. One gang, about thirty in number, repaired to the 
coast of the Carolinas, where they established themselves near the 
mouth of Cape Fear River, and continued their depredations. Mr. 
William Rhett, whose gallantry and enterprise have already been 
mentioned, was sent out against them by Governor Johnson of North 
Carolina, in a vessel of some force. This otficer captured a sloop 
commanded by Steed Bonnet, and manned by thirty of the free- 
booters. Shortly after, the Governor himself went in person against 
the remainder, and falling in with another sloop, a desperate en- 
gagement look place, in which, it would seem, it was the intention 
not to give quarter, as nearly all in the sloop were slain. Those 
who escaped death in the action, were immediately tried, and, with 
the exception of one man, hanged. These severe blows did much 
towards clearing the coast of freebooters, though we find that a gang 
of twenty-five more were taken into Rhode Island, in 1723, by a 
British sloop of war, and sentenced to be hanged. How many were 
executed, is not known. 

The peculiar condition of America, where land of the greatest 
fertility abovuided, while manual labour was difficult to be obtained, 
early introduced into the colonies the traffic in slaves, though it 
speaks favourably for the people of the country, that they generally 
received this species of succour with reluctance; and a long period 
elapsed before the trade became important. It would exceed our 
proper office w'ere wc to enter into a continuous history of this branch 
of American commerce, and we shall confine our remarks, therefore, 
to the few facts that were connected with its navigation. 

The first negro slaves brought into the country, were landed from 
a Dutch man-of-war, at James Town, in 1C20.* Where these poor 
Africans were obtained is not now known, but they were most prob- 
ably the victims of perfidy. The increase among the blacks was 
very slow, however; for thirty years later the whites of Virginia were 
said to outnumber the negroes, in the proportion of fifty to one; and 
even when the colony had been settled seventy years, the slaves 
were not at all numerous.t 

The first American vessel engaged in the slave trade, of which we 
have any account, sailed from Boston, for the coast of Guinea, in 
1645, having been fitted out by Thomas Keyser and James Smitk.| 
The last of these worthies was a member of the church. To the 
credit of the people of Boston, their sense of right revolted at the act, 
the parties concerned were arraigned, and the slaves were ordered to 
be restored to their native country at the public expense. 

* Beverly. t Bancroft. t Bancroft. 



80 NAVAL HISTORY. 1739.] 

Redemptioners were also early introduced into the country as ser- 
vants, as well as the prisoners taken in the battles of the civil wars. 
Thus the John and Sarah, which arrived at Boston in 16o2, brought 
with her freight for the Scotch prisoners taken at Dunbar.* Many 
of the Royalists taken at the battle of Worcester were also trans- 
ported and sold into servitude. The leaders of the insurrection of 
Penruddock shared the same fate. Many of the prisoners taken in 
Monmouth's rebellion were sentenced to transportation in turn. In- 
deed, at this period, England appeared to think America the best 
receptacle of her discontented, whether in religion or politics. 

As recently as 1724, the importation of slaves into the Carolinas 
amounted to but 439 souls. The trade was entirely in British ships. 
At a later day, however, Rhode Island, and some of the other colo- 
nies, engaged extensively in their traffic. 

We turn with satisfaction to the whale fisheries. The commence- 
ment of this manly, lucrative, and hardy pursuit dates from an early 
period in the history of the country. The whale frequenting the 
American seas, at that time, the people of the coasts kept boats, 
organised themselves into gangs, and whenever a spout was seen, 
they would launch in pursuit. This irregular system prevailed many 
years, until sloops, and other small craft, began to be employed in 
the offing. These vessels would range the coast, as far south as the 
West Indies, and north to Davis's Straits. They occasionally cross- 
ed to the Azores, where a rich booty was sometimes obtained in the 
spermaceti. 

The whale fishery on a larger scale, dates from about the middle 
of the eighteenth century, when Massachusetts in particular, engaged 
extensively in the enterprise. This colony alone is said to have had 
no less than three hundred vessels employed in the northern and 
southern whale fisheries previously to the war of the Revolution. 
Her vessels led the way to the South Atlantic, to the African coast, 
and to the Pacific Ocean. 

In 1731, Pennsylvania owned 6000 tons of shipping, and Massa- 
chusetts near 38,000, of which about one half were in the European 
trade; while the entrances into New York in 1737 reached to 211 
sail, and the clearances to 220. About the same time Philadelphia 
had 211 of the former, and 215 of the latter. At this period in the 
history of the country (1739,) Newport had a hundred sail of ship- 
ping of diffi^rent sizes. 

After the war which was terminated by the peace of Utrecht, most 
of the maritime colonies employed a species of guarda-costas, small 
armed vessels, that were maintained for the suppression of piracies, 
and for the general protection of the coasts. Some of these vessels 
were commanded by young officers, who afterwards rose to more or 
less distinction, either at home, or in the Bi'itish service. Among 
others was Lieutenant Wooster, afterwards Captain Wooster, who 
commanded the armed vessel employed by Massachusetts. This 
gentleman was subsequently killed at Danbury, during the Revolu- 

* Suffolk County Records, as given by Bancroft. 



1745.] NAVAL HISTORY. 31 

tion, holdings the rank of a Brigadier General in the mihtia of his 
native state. 

England declared war in 1739 against Spain, and the American 
Colonies became the seat of many of her preparations and levies. 
Natives of this country were much employed in the different expe- 
ditions, and it is well known that the estate which has since acquired 
so much celebrity on account of its having been the property of 
Washington, obtained the appellation of Mount Vernon from the 
circumstance that an elder brother, from whom that great man in- 
herited it, had served in the celebrated attack against Cartliagena, 
under the admiral of that name. In 1741, the colonies supplied 
many of the transports sent against Cuba. 

The year 1744 became memorable in the history of the colonies, 
by another declaration of war against France. By this time the im- 
portance of all the American provinces, whether Enghsh, French, or 
Spanish, Avas certain to render them, more or less, seats of the con- 
tests; and the great European states interested, were now found 
seriously exhibiting their power in the Western hemisphere. The 
short duration of the Avar, probably, alone prevented America from 
being the scene of those severe struggles that were deferred a fcAV 
years by the peace of ALx la Chapelle. Short as Avas the contest, 
however, it afforded the colonists an opportunity of manifesting both 
their spirit and their i-esources, by an expedition against Louisbourg. 

The French had long been aware of the importance of a port that 
connnanded the entrance of the St. LaAvrence, as Gibraltar com- 
mands the approach to the Mediterranean, and vast sums of money 
had been expended on the fortifications of Louisbourg. It is said 
that no less than §G,009,000 were appropriated to this object, and a 
quarter of a century had been consumed in the preparations. The 
place was so formidable as to have been termed a second Dunkirk. 
So conscious had Massachusetts become of her strength, hoAvever, 
that no sooner Avas the declaration of war knoAvn, than Governor 
Shirley laid propositions before the English ministry and the colonial 
legislature, for the reduction of this great naval and military station. 
The General Court of Massachusetts, at first, was afraid to embark 
in so serious an enterprise Avithout assurances of support from home, 
as England Avas then affectionately termed, but the people of the 
colony getting a knoAvledge of the Governor's Avishes, seconded him 
so strongly Avith petitions, that the measure Avas finally carried by a 
majority of one. Connecticut, Rhode Island and Ncav Hampshire 
lent their aid, and by the 25th of March, 1745, the expedition was 
ready to sail. Not a British soldier Avas employed, and when the 
fleet left Boston, it Avas Avith very uncertain hopes of being supported 
by any of the king's ships. 

The land forces, all levies of New England, no other colony join- 
ing in the enterprise, Avere led by Colonel William Pepperel, of Kit- 
tery, in Maine, and the fleet Avas commanded by Captain EdAvard 
Tyng, of the Massachusetts colonial marine. The naval part of 
these forces consisted principally of vessels equipped, or hired, for 
this especial service. There appear to have been twelve in all, 



32 NAVAL HISTORY. [1745. 

besides the transports, the largest carrying but 20 guns. The land 
forces amounted to 4070 men. From the various and contradictory 
accounts of this armament, we gather the following list of the colonial 
cruisers engaged in the expedition, viz: Ships, Massachusetts, 20, 
Commodore Tyng; Ctesar, 20, Captain SncHing; — Snows, Shirley, 
20, Captain Rouse; Prince of Orange, 16, Captain Smethurst; — 

Brig Boston Packet, 16, Captain Fletcher; and Sloops, 12, 

Donahue; 8, Saunders; Bosch; — a ship hired by Rliode 

Island, 20, Captain Griften, and two vessels of 16 guns each, belong- 
ing to Connecticut. 

It is a circumstance worthy of being mentioned, as characteristic 
of the manners of the day, and of the habitual thrift ot the New 
England colonists, that Governor Shirley, in his written instructions, 
lays great stress on an order for the ships to go well provided with 
cod-lines, in order to subsist the troops and seamen, as much as pos- 
sible, on the products of the sea. 

The fleet reached Canseau on the 4th of April, where it remained 
some weeks, to be joined by the levies of New Hampshire and Con- 
necticut, as well as to allow time for the ice to dissolve in the neigh- 
bourhood oYCape Breton. For the first time, probably , in the history 
of the colonies, large military preparations had been made in season, 
and the result triumphantly showed the benefit of the unwonted 
alacrity. Here Commodore Warren, of the British navy, joined the 
expedition, with a part of the West India squadron, in which seas, 
and on the American coast, he had long commanded. This excellent 
and efficient officei', than whom there was not a braver in the British 
marine, brought with him the Superb, 60, and three ships of forty 
guns; his broad pennant flying in the former. Of course, he as- 
sumed the command of the naval operations, though great distrust 
appears to have existed between him and Colonel Pe^jperel to the 
last. Aiter n conference with tlie latter, he went off" Louisbourg, 
which he blockaded. 

Louisbourg was invested by land on the 30th of April, and after a 
vigorous siege of forty-seven days, during which time a severe can- 
nonade was carried on, the place submitted. The French flags were 
kept flying for some time after the surrender, by wliich rusi'. two East 
Indiamen and a South Sea ship, all richly laden, wxre decoyed into 
the mouth of the harbour and captured. The value of these three 
vessels has been estimated as high as $3,000,000. 

While cruising off" the port, Commodore Warren captured the 
French man-of-war Vigilant, 60, with troops and supplies for the 
garrison. This important event, no doubt, was of great moment to 
the result of the siege. 

Although the naval part of the colonial expedition could have been 
of no great account afi:er the arrival of Commodore Warren,* it took 
the sea with creditable vigour, as soon as Louisbourg had submitted. 
The Shirley, Galley, 20, Captain Rouse, or as the vessel is some- 

* It has been pretended that the Visjilant 60, was captured by the colonial ship Massa- 
chusetts 20, Commodore Tyng ; but this statement, besides boinij highly improbable in 
itself, is not properly sustained by the histories of the day. 

I 



1747.] NAVAL HISTORY. 



times called, the Snow, Shirley, captured eight French vessels, and, 
in one instance, she brouojit in two, taken after an obstinate and 
gallant resistance. For this exploit, that officer received the com- 
mission of a captain in the King's service. 

No less than 400 privateers are said to have been out from the 
colonics in this war, but the number is so incredible as to give rise to 
the conjectures that the estimate includes letters of marque and boats 
on the coast. Nothing worthy of much notice occurred in America, 
during this short war, besides the capture of Louisbourg, and this 
place was restored to the French at the peace. 

Previously, however, to this event, the French menaced the whole 
of the American coast, from Cape Breton to the Delaware, with two 
serious invasions, both of which were fortunately defeated; the first 
by the elements, and the second by the victory obtained by Admirals 
Anson and Warren, in 1747. The peace did not take place until the 
followmg year, when Acadie Avas finally ceded to the British crown 
and took the name of Nova Scotia. 

The general interest felt in the fisheries, and the desire to extend 
the commerce of the country, caused a company in Philadelphia to 
undertake the discovery of a Northwest passage. With this object 
the schooner Argo, Captain Swaine, sailed for Hudson's Bay, March 
4th, 1753. After an absence of several months the Argo returned to 
Philadelphia, having efl'ected little more than obtaining a better 
knowledge of the coast, and of the inlets of the great bays. The 
following year the attempt was repeated with still less success, the 
vessel having lost three of her people in an encounter with the Indians. 



CHAPTER III. 



Shipping of different ports, in 17.i0— Practice respecting Midshipmen — Old French War 
— Sharp conflict between the Thurloe and Les Deux Amis — ^Duty on stamps and tea — 
Burning of the Gasp6 — Destruction of the tea — Battle of Lexington. 

The peace of Aix la Chapelle found the navigation of the Ameri- 
can colonies in a very flourishing condition. More than a century 
had elapsed since the settlements had passed the ordeal of their infant 
-truggles, and although distant from each other, and labouring under 
.he disadvantages of a scattered population, they were fast rising to 
the dignity and power of states. The necessity of maijitaining all 
their more important communications by water, had a direct ten- 
flency to encourage a disposition to the sea, and, although without a 
regular warlike marine, their marcantile tonnage probably equalled 
that of the mother country, when considered in reference to popu- 
lation. The number of souls in all the provinces, at that period, did 
not much exceed a million, if the Indians be excluded from the 
computation. Of the tonnage it is not easy to speak with accuracy, 
though V e possess sufficient authority by which to form some gene- 
ral estii' ates. The year of the peace, 500 vessels sre said to have 
vo- , I. 3 



34 NAVAL HISTORY. [1750. 

cleared from the single port of Boston, and 430 to have entered ; this 
was exclusively of coasters and fishing vessels. At Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, .(here were 121 clearances and 73 entries, besides 
200 coasting vessels in regular employment. The trade of New 
York and Philadelphia was less than that of Boston, but still re 
spectable. Thus in 1749, or the year succeeding that of the peace, 
the clearances at Philadelphia were 291, and the entries 303; while 
Boston, during the same period, had 504 clearances and 489 entries 
In 1750, a year in which the navigation had sensibly diminished, the 
clearances of the former port were 286, and the entries 232. Many 
ports, which have since lost most of their navigation, then enjoyed a 
respectable trade, among which may be mentioned Newport, Rhode 
Island, and Perth Amboy, New Jersey. 

The settlements extended no where to any great distance from the 
ocean, the entire population being virtually ranged along the coast, 
of which the American colonies then possessed rather more in extent 
than that of the entire coast of the Island of Great Britain. Some 
of the writers of the day boast that the tonnage and guns employed 
in privateers out of the colonies, during the late Avar, had exceeded 
the tonnage and guns of the royal navy of England, in the reign of 
Queen Elizabeth. Although many of the clearances and entries 
just enumerated, were, unquestionably, those of vessels owned by the 
mother country, there is no doubt that a very fair proportion belong- 
ed to the provinces. The number of coasting and fishing vessels, in 
particular, was already ij-reat, Massachusetts alone owning nearly one 
vessel, of some description or other, for each hundred inhabitants. 

Up to this period, the common white oak of the forest was the v/ood 
principally used in naval constructions, though the chestnut was also 
found serviceable in particular parts of the frames. The white oak 
of North America varies very much in quality, according to the lati- 
tude, and other circumstances; that which grows in the southern dis- 
trict, as well as that which grows near the sea, being generally more 
esteemed than that which is found further north, or remote from the 
coast. The trees, moreover, which have been left in the open lands, 
possess a value that does not belong to those which have acquired 
all their properties in the shades of the forest. But a new era i)i ship 
building was at hand, through the introduction of a wood that greatly 
abounded in the more southern maritime regions of British America. 
In 17.50, a vessel called the Live Oak arrived in Charleston, South 
Carolina, having been built of the invaluable timber after which she 
was named, which was now discovered to be one of the best materials 
for naval architecture known. The Live Oak is said to have been 
the first vessel in which this wood was ever used. 

About this time, it also became a practice among the gentrv of 
the American provinces, to cause their sons to be entered as midship- 
men in the royal navy. Occasionally an American had been trans- 
ferred from the colonial marine to that of the king, but, hitherto, very 
few boys had been regularly entered, or rated, in the service, with a 
view to adopting it as a profession. The circumstance that Wash 
ington was intended for such a lite is generally Known, and we now 



1754.] NAVAL HISTORY. 35 

look back to the tender affection of his mother, which alone prevent- 
ed it, as to a Providential interference in belialf of the nation. Alany 
of those who were tluis placed in the Enghsh marine rose to high 
stations, and several have been, or still are, classed among the ablest 
and most useful officers in tlie employment of the Britisii crown. 
We might even point to a painful notoriety that a few obtained, by 
their activity against the land of their birth, during the war of the 
Revolution. 

The tranquility established by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, like 
that produced by the peace of Utrecht, was of short continuance. 
Disputes early commenced between the English and French provin- 
ces, in relation to their boundaries ; and an inland war actually broke 
out between them in 1754, though the peace of Europe was not 
immediately disturbed by this remote and local contest. This singu- 
lar state of things continued throughout 1755, and the campaign of 
that year was one of the most important that had then occurred on 
the American continent. Both nations reinforced their troops from 
Europe, and strong squadrons were employed to protect the convoys; 
but there being no technical hostilities, commissions were not issued 
to letters of marque and privateers. After many ineffectual attempts 
at an accommodation, however, the King of Great Britain made a 
formal declaration of war on the 17th of May, 175G. 

Such was the commencement of the struggle that in America is 
familiarly called " the old French war." Although this contest was 
of the last importance to the colonies, by driving the French from 
their part of the continent, and by leaving the savages without an 
ally, its events were more properly connected with the movements of 
armies, than with any naval operations of magnitude, so far as the 
latter belongs to the subject of this work. The beginning of tiie 
war was disastrous, but in the end, the celebrated Earl of Chatham 
succeeded in infusing a portion of his own energy into the councils 
of the King, and from that moment the most brilliant success re- 
warded his efforts. 

An expedition against liouisbourg was attempted in 1757, under 
Admiral Holbourn, but it was abandoned on ascertaining that, 
besides its regular garrison and important works, the ])lace was de- 
fended by a fleet of 17 sail of the line, which was moored in the 
harbour. We learn the growing importance of the colonies in the 
forces employed on this occasion ; Louisbourg having a garrison of 
6000 regulars, Avhile the army destined to attack it, mustered about 
11,000 English troops, besides provincials. The failure appears to 
have arisen out of the superiority of the French in ships. 

It is worthy of being mentioned, that, while the English fleet was 
cruising ofl" Louisbourg it met w^ith a heavy gale, in which one of 
its ships, the Tilbury, was wrecked, and more than two hundred of 
her crew were drowned. The remainder fell into the hands of the 
French, who with the humanity and courtesy of a great and polished 
nation, sent the sufl'erers to Halifax, under ihe protection of a flag 
of truce. 

Although Spain became a party in the war in 176r2, on the side of 



36 NAVAL HISTORY. [1756-62. 

France, the circumstance did not materially vary the nature of the 
exertions of the colonies, which were mainly directed to the reduc- 
tion of the Canadas. Martinique and the Havanna were both 
captured, but the fleets employed by the fjUglish were on a scale too 
large to require the aid of the hght vessels of the provinces. Many 
Americans served in these enterprises, both by land and by water, 
but, as is always the case, when there is metropolitan power to claim 
the glory, the credit due their exertions was absorbed in the renown 
of the mother country. 

Peace was signed on the 10th of February, 1703, and from that 
day France ceased to claim any portion of the American Continent 
north of Louisiana, with the exception of two insignificant fishing 
stations, near the outlet of the St. Lawrence. Tlie conquests of 
this war were an incipient step towai'ds the eventual independence 
of the colonies, since the latter found themselves without any enemy 
in their vicinity, to cause them to lean on England for succour, or to 
divert their policy from those domestic measures which were more 
immediately connected with their internal prosperity. 

The northern colonies gained much credit by their exertions in the 
late war, having raised a respectable army ; but less mention is made 
of their privateers than might have been supposed ; from Avhich we 
are led to infer, that the enterprises of this nature did not attract as 
much attention as those which had characterised the earlier struggles 
of the country. 

At the close of this great contest, the original American colonies, 
or those which have since constituted the United States, without 
including the Floridas and Louisiana, are supposed to have con 
tained more than 1,200,000 souls, exclusively of Indians. Censuses 
were actually taken in one or two of the provinces. That of Massa- 
chusetts gave a return a little exceeding 245,000, including 5000 
people of colour. That of Maryland, taken in 1755, gave a total 
of 107,208 whites, a number considerably exceeding the estimates 
after the peace. 

This war, while, on the part of the colonists, it was so much con- 
fined to expeditions by land, afforded, notwithstanding, some instan- 
ces of hardihood and gallantry on the part of the privateers, of which, 
as usual, more or less were at sea. One of these actions deserves to 
be noticed, as it was among the most obstinate of which we possess 
any tuithentic accounts. It was in January, 1758, that the privateer 
Tluirloe, 14, Captain Mantle, fell in with the French privateer Les 
Deux Amis, 10, Captain Felix. The Thurloe had a crew of 84 
men, and Les Deux Amis a crew of 98. Perceiving the superiority 
of his antagonist in guns, the Frenchman endeavored to escape, but 
finding this impossible, he ran him athwart hawse, and made a noble 
effort to carry him by boarding. He Avas met by a resolution equal 
to his own, and for more than two hours these small vessels are said 
to have remained foul of each other, their crews contending for vic- 
tory, with all the implements of destruction known to the warfare of 
tlie day. The Thurloe alone, is said to have thrown no fewer than 
•JO!) powder flasks and 72 stinkpots, on board hrr enemy, besides 



17G3.] NAVAL HLSTORY. 37 

making a liberal use of her guns and small arms. The Deux Amis 
struck, probably subdued by the metal of her adversary, but not 
until she had rendered the combat one of the bloodiest in naval 
annals, by the obstinacy of her resistance. Tlie Thurloe had 12 
men killed, and "25 wounded ; Les Deux Amis had more than 80 
of her people included in the casualties. 

Although the history of this action is liable to the distrust that ac- 
companies all accounts that are not subjected to the investigation of 
officid forms and official scrutiny, it appears to be given, in the 
accounts of the day, with a particularity that renders it worthy of 
credit. 

Immediately after the peace of 17G3, commenced that legislative 
usurpation on tiie part of the mother country, which twenty yearis 
later terminated in the independence of the colonies. It would ex- 
ceed the proper limits of a work of this character, to enter into the 
details of that eventful period, or minutely to trace the progress of a 
system of encroachments that gradually undermined the allegiance 
of a people, whose confiding affection still resists the animosities of 
two Avars, and the jealousies and competition of commerce. 

America, at the period of which we write, had that mental depend- 
ence on the mother country, which the province is known to feel for 
the metropolis ; exaggerating its virtues, palliating its defects, and 
substituting its own images for reason and truth. The temporary 
alienation that succeeded was the work of time, and it required more 
than ten years of progressive innovations, on the part of the parlia- 
ment of Great Britain, before the more daring and far-sighted of the 
American leaders could bring the body of the people up to the point 
of o|)cn resistance. All this time, however, the provinces were 
rapidly increasin<j in mimbers, in resources, and in a spirit of na- 
tionality, as o])posed to the ancient sentiment, which identified the 
shildren of the colonists wilh a land that they still loved to term 
" home." As the causes which led to the great results that followed 
lay dee])er than it was usual for the writers of the day to consider, 
a passing word on so grave a subject may not be thrown away. 

In the age when the AmericaJi colonies were founded, and re- 
ceived their different charters from the crown, the prerogative of the 
King of England was active, the monarch effectually ruling the em- 
pire, checked by the other branches of the government. The rela- 
tion between a prince and his subjects is simple, and, when not 
diverted from its legitimate direction, it is fostering and paternal. 
Under such circumstances, and especially when there exists iio un- 
usual sources of irritation, the several parts of an extended empire 
may be governed eijuitably and on a common principle of justice. 
The monarch of one portion of the territories is the monarch of 
another, and he is supposed erpmlly to respect the rights and inter- 
ests of all- But, when tlie revolution of 1688 put the House of 
Hanover on the throne, a system of ministerial responsibility was 
established, that gradually reduced the power of the crown, until the 
ministers, who, in effect, form the executive of Great Britain, got to 
be the creatures of parliament, instead of remaining the real servants 



38 NAVAL HISTORY. [1773. 

of the prince. It is true, tliat tlie King named liis cabinet, or rather 
its head ; but lie was compelled to name those that parliament se- 
lected, or the latter stopped the sup])Iies. This was eliectually sub- 
stituting the power of parliament, in all the more important relations 
of the empire, for that of the king; and, as parliament was com- 
posed of a representation, direct and indirect, of a small part of the 
territory nominally subject to the British Crown, it followed as a 
consequence, that this portion of the empire, by extending its legis- 
tion unduly over the others, was substituting a new and dangerous 
master, for a prince who might be supposed to know no difference 
in his affection for his subjects. 

AVhile, however, this was probably the principle that lay at the 
root of the difficulties with America, few saw it in theory ; facts in- 
variably preceding opinion in a country as purely practical as this. 
Legislative usurpation, in the abstract, was resisted ; while few per- 
ceived the difference between a legislation that was effectually 
checked by the veto of an independent monarch, bearing an erpuil 
relation to all the parts of a vast empire, and a legislation that not 
only held this, but all the other material powers of the crown, directly 
or indirectly, in subjection. 

Empires may be held togetlier when the several parts are ruled 
by a central power that has a common, just, and obvious interest in 
all ; but nothing short of force can coinjiel the possessors of one de- 
tached territory to be sflbservient to the interests of the possessors of 
another. This great obstacle, then, lay at the root of the difficulties, 
and, keeping out of view the questions of the day, which arose as 
consequences rather than as causes, it is now clear that the connex- 
ion could not have been perpetuated, while a small fragment of the 
empire so absolutely controlled the great and moving power of the 
state. 

Among the offensive measures adopted by parliament was a duty 
on stam])s, and another on tea. By the first, vessels could not renu- 
larly proceed to sea, unless furnished with the required stamps ; yet 
so strong was the opposition, that ships actually ventured on the 
ocean without the necessary papers; nor is it known that any seri- 
ous consequences resulted from so bold a step. In the end, the 
stam[)-officers having resigned, and no one being willing to incur the 
odium of filling their places, the courts of justice themselves, trans- 
acted business without regard to those forms that the acts of parlia- 
ment had rendered necessary. This tax was finally abandoned, and 
substitutes were sought, that were believed to be more manageable. 
Fresh attempts to enforce the navigation act, which had virtually 
become a dead letter, were made in 1708, and a sloop from Madeira, 
loaded with wine, was actually seized in Boston, and placed under 
the guns of the Romney man-of-war. A mob followed, and the 
public officers were compelled to seek protection in tiie castle. 

Great Britain had never maintained a body of troops in her colo- 
nies, except to protect them a<>ainst the French and Indians. • These 
soldiers had hitherto been principally kept on remote frontiers; but 
regiments \vere now sent to Boston, evidently witli a view to enforce 



1772.] NAVAL HISTORY. 39 

the assumed ascendency of the British Parliament. This step added 
greatly to the discontent, and eventually was the direct cause of the 
comniencenicnt of hostilities 

One of the first overt acts of resistance that took place in this cel- 
ebrated .struggle, occurred in 1772, in the waters of Rhode Island. 
A vessel of war had been stationed on the coast to enforce the laws, 
and a small schooner, with a light armament and twenty-seven men, 
called the Gasp6, was employed as a tender, to run into the shallow 
waters of that coast. On the 17th of June, 1772, a Providence 
packet, that plied between New York and Rhode Island, named the 
Hannah, and commanded by a Captain Linzee, hove in sight of the 
man-of-war, on her passage up the bay. Tiie Hannah was ordered 
to heave-to, in order to be examined ; but her master refused to com- 
ply ; and being f ivourod by a fresh southerly breeze, that was fast 
sweeping him out of gunshot, the Gaspe was signalled to follow. 
The chase continued for five-and-twenty miles,. under a press of sail, 
when the Hannah coming up with a bar, with which her master was 
familiar, and drawing less water than the schooner. Captain Linzee 
led the latter on a shoal, where she struck. The tide falling, the 
Gaspe sewed, and was not in a condition to be I'emoved for several 
hours. 

, The news of the chase was circulated on the arrival of the Hannah 
at Providence. A strong feeling was excited among the pooulation, 
and towards evening the town drummer appeared in the stiBts, as 
sembling the people in the ordinary manner. As soon as a crowd 
was collected, the drummer led his followers in front of a shed tha 
stood near one of the stores, when a man disguised as an Indian sud 
denly ap|)eared on the roof, and proclaimed a secret expedition for 
that night, inviting all of" stout hearts'" to assemble on the wharf, 
precisely at nine, disguised like himself. At the appointed hour, 
most of the men in the place collected at the spot designated, when 
sixty-four were selected for the undertaking tiiat was in view. 

This party embarked in eight of the launches of the diflerent ves- 
sels lying at the wharves, and taking with them a quantity of paving 
stones, they pulled down the river in a body. The commander is 
supposed to have been a Captain Whipple, who afterwards held a 
commission in the service of Congress, but none of the names were 
publicly mentioned at the time. On nearing the Gaspe, about two 
in the morning, the boats were hailed by a sentinel on deck. This 
man was driven below by a volley of stones. The commander of 
the Gas])e now appeared, and ordering the boats ofl*, he fired a pistol 
at them. This discharge was returned from a musket, and the offi- 
cer was shot through the thigh. By this time, the crew of the Gaspe 
had assembled, and the party from Providence boarded. The con- 
flict was short, the schooner's people being knocked down and se- 
cured. All on board were put into the boats, and the Gaspe was set 
on lire. Towards morning she blew up. 

This bold st(,'p naturally excited great indignation in the British 
officer^, and all possil^le means were taken to discover the oftenders. 
The Covenmient at home oflered a reward of JSIOOO sterling for the 



40 NAVAL HISTORY. [1773. 

leader, and £500 to any person who would discover the other par 
ties, with the promise of a pardon should the informer he an accom- 
plice. But the feeling of the times was too high for the ordinary 
means of detection, no evidence having ever been obtained sufficient 
even to arraign a solitary individual, notwithstanding a Commission 
'of Inquiry, under the Great Seal of England, sat with that object, 
fi'om January to June, during the year 1773. 

Although this affair led to no immediate results, it doubtless had 
its influence in widening the breach between the opposing parties, 
and it is worthy of remark, that in it was shed the first blood that 
flowed in the struggle for American Independence ; the whole trans- 
action being as direct a resistance to oppression, as the subsequent, 
and better known fight at Lexington. 

The year 1773 is memorable in American history, for the resist- 
ance made by the colonists to the duty on tea. By means of some 
maniigement on the part of the British ministry, in permitting the 
East India Company to export their teas free of charges, it was pos- 
sible to sell the article at a lower rate in America, subject to the duty, 
than it could be sold previously to the imposition of the tax. Fan- 
cying that this circumstance would favour the vicAvs of all the par- 
ties in Eiu-ope, for the warehouses of the company were glutted in 
consequence of the system of non-imj)ortation adopted by the colo- 
nists, j^vcral cargoes were sent to difixn-ent ports, including New 
York,^hiladelphia, Charleston and Boston. The inhabitants of 
the two former places compelled the ships to return to London, 
without unloading, while the people of Charleston caused their vessel 
to be discharged, and the tea to be stored in damp cellars, where it 
finally spoiled. 

Tliree ships loaded with the offensive article had been sent to 
Boston, and the inhabitants succeeded in persuading their masters 
to consent to return to London, without discharging, but the con- 
signees refused to release them from their charter-parties, while the 
authorities denied the necessary clearances. The Governor even 
withheld the permit necessary to pass the fort. This conduct pro- 
duced great excitement, and preparations Avere made to destroy the 
tea, under an apprehension that it might be gradually and clandes- 
tinely landed. Suddenly, in the dusk of the evening, a party dis- 
guised as Indians, and Avhich has been diflferently represented as 
composed of tAventy men up to eighty, appeared in the streets, 
marching SAviftly in the direction of the Avharves. It Avas followed 
by a moil, and proceeded to one of the tea-ships, AA'hich it boarded, 
and of Avhich it took possession without resistance. The hatches 
Avere broken open, and the chests of tea Avere struck on deck, staved, 
and their contents AA'ere throAvn into the Avater. The Avhole pro- 
ceedings Avere conducted in the most orderly manner, and Avitli little 
or no noise, the labourers seldom speaking. So much mystery 
attended this affair, that it is not easy, even at this remote day, to 
ascertain all the ])articnlars ; and, although the names of the actors 
have been mentioned openly of late, for a long period appreli#nsions 
are said to have been entertained, by some engaged — men of Avealth 



l':73.] NAVAL HISTORY. 41 

— that they niii^ht yet be made tlie subjects of a prosecution for dam- 
ages, by the East India Company. Tbree hundred and forty-two 
chests of tea were destroyed, which was probably the cargo of a 
single sliij), the two others <piitting the port soon after. 

This daring act was followed by the Boston Port Bill, a political 
measure that was e([ually liigh-handed, since it denied the ])eople of 
tiic town all direct partici])alion in commerce. This sudden check, 
at twenty days' notice, to the trade of a ])!ace that, the previous year, 
had seen 411 clearances, and 587 entries, to and from foreign poi'ts, 
produced much distress in the town itself, and greater indignation 
throughout the country. It had been the misfortune of England, 
never to understand the character of the people of the American 
colonies; for, accustomed to dependencies that liad been iunnbled 
by concpiL'st, she had not yet learned to appreciate the spirit of those 
who were rapidly shooting u[) into political manhood by their own 
eiforts, and who had only placed themselves in the situation they oc- 
cu))ied, because they had found the liberty of Enghiud herself, in- 
sufficient for their opinions and wants. 

The people now began seriously to prepare for an appeal to force, 
and they })rotited by the liberty that was still left them, to organise 
military corps, Avith a view to recover that which they had lost. A 
Congress of representatives from the difterent colonies convened, 
and a system of organisation and concert was adopted, that^erved 
to unite as many as possible in the struggle that Avas fast appro'WIiing'. 

Towards the close of the year 1774, various steps were taken in 
difterent parts of the country, that had a direct bearing on the civil 
•war that was known to be at hand. Laws had been passed in Eng- 
land, prohibiting the exportation of arms and military supplies to 
America, and the cannon and powder of the Crown were seized at 
various points, either by the local governments, or by private indi- 
viduals. Twenty-six guns, of difterent calibers, were found on Fort 
Island and carried «to Providence, and the people of Rhode Island 
arc said to have got possession, in the whole, of (piite forty i>uns, by 
these I)o!d measures. At Portsmouth, IVew Hampshire, a body of 
409 men i)rocceded to the castle, at the harbour's mouth, kept the 
garrison in check, and breaking open the magazine, they carried oftf 
one hundred barrels of ])owder. 

While means like these were used to collect the necessary mili- 
tary equipments, provisions, as well as arms, were collected in dif- 
ferent parts of the country, in readiness for a campaign. Among 
other depSts of this nature one had been made at Concord, a small 
town at tlie distance of eigliteen miles from Boston, and General 
Gage, who commanded the British forces in America, deemed it es- 
sential that it should be destroyed. A strong detatchment was sent 
on this service, and it fell in with a small body of American minute- 
men at Lexington. These militia were dispersed by a volley, in 
whicli a few men were killed. This aftair has always been consid 
ered the commencement of the War of the Revolution ; and justly, 
as the hostilities wliich were then commenced did not cease, until tlie 
Independence of the Colonics was acknowledged by Treaty. The 



42 - NAVAL HISTORY. [1774. 

Britisli proceeded to Concord, where they efiected their oliject 
tlibugh not without resistance. The people now bejjjan to collect in 
force, and as soon as the Britisli resumed their march, on their re 
turn to Boston, they were assailed by the former from behind the 
walls and fences. So vigorously were the troops pressed on this oc- 
casion, that it is thought they must have surrendered, had they not 
been met by a strong reinforcement, commanded by Lord Feicy, 
which enabled them to halt and recover their breath. As soon as 
the march was resumed, however, the provincials renewed the attack, 
and the British did not succeed in gaining a place of security, until 
they reached Charlestown neck. In this aflair the loss of the Amer- 
icans has been ascertained to have amounted to 50 killed, 34 
wounded, and 4 missing ; that of the British to 73 killed, 174 wound- 
ed, and 2G ])risoners. 

The intelligence of this important event circulated like a raging 
fire throuiihout the country, and it was received every where as a call 
to battle. Reserve was thrown aside ; the population flev/ to arms, 
and the military stores of the Crown were seized wherever they could 
be found. An irregular body of 20,000 men appeared before Bos- 
ton, with incredible rapidity, and formed a line confining the royal 
army to the occupation of the town. With a view to reduce their 
enemies to still narrower limits. Breed's Hill, a height that com- 
mands the inner harbor of Boston, was seized, and a redoubt com- 
men4ft. This step brought on the combat that has since been 
termed the Battle of Banker's Hill, one of the most extraordinary 
conflicts of modern times, aiul which may be said to have given birth 
to American Independence.'' Washington was appointed Com- 
mander in Chief by the Congress of the United Colonies, and the 
war commenced under the usual laws of civilised nations, with the 
exception of the formality of a declaration. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Privatoors— First nava) action of the Revokition— Sdiooiier Lee, Capl. Manly, captures 
the Ki]i,'lisli bi-i? Nancy — Cona:re.s.s orders the consti-nction of vessels of war- Appor- 
tionment of tlie iirst ottieers of the navy— Its manai,'enient— Esek Hopkins, E^n. ap- 
pointed " Connnander in Chief"— First rei,'ular cruisers— Expedition of Commodore 
Hopkins— Contest with the Glasgow— The Edward captured by the Lexington 

TuK thirteen United Colonies that now commenced a struggle 
with the mother country, not to obtain a political independence, lor 
few thought of so great a change Avhen blood was first shed, but to 
regain rights that were inherent in the governing principles of the 
institutions under which they had long lived, and which were assured 
to them formally in a vtiriety of ways, possessed but scanty n)eans 
to contend witha power like that of Britain. Tlieiiyiopulation was 
less than three millions, their pecu))iary resources A\ere of no great 



1775.] NAVAL HISTORY. 43 

amount, and their military prejjarations insignificant. But the fire 
of true patriotism had been kindled, and that whicli in other nations 
is ertected by means of laboured combinations and political manage- 
ment, the peo])le of America were bent on doing of their own vol- 
untary motion and united efforts. The colonies of New England, in 
particular^ which possessed a population trained to liberty; hardy, 
simple, ingenious and brave; rose as it might be to a man, and as 
this was the part of the country in which the fiame broke out, thither 
we must first direct our attention in order to find the earliest evi- 
dences of its intensity. 

On the ocean, the preparations for the struggle were even smaller 
than those which had been made on the land. Congress Inid done 
nothing, and the provisions for naval defence which, from time to 
time, had existed among the different colonies, had never amounted 
to more than maintaining the fi^w guarda-costas already mentioned, 
or to the temporary exertions of an expedition. As soon as the 
struggle commenced in earnest, however, the habits of the pcoj)!e, 
their aptitude for sea service, and the advantages of both a public and 
a private nature, that were to be obtained from successful cruising, 
induced thousands to turn longing eyes to an element that promised 
so many ffattering results. Nothing but the caution of Congress, 
which body was indisposed at first to act as if general warfare, 
instead of a redress of grievances, was its object, prevented a rushing 
towards the private cruisers, that would probably have given the 
commerce of England a heavier and a more sudden blow, than it 
had ever yet received. But a diff"erent policy was pursued, and the 
orders to capture, first issued, were confined to vessels bringing stores 
and sn|)|>lies to the British forces in America. It was as late as the 
lOih of Nov. 177.3, before Massachusetts, the colony which was the 
seat of war, and which may be said to have taken the lead in the 
revolt, established courts of admiralty, and enacted laws for the 
encouragement of nautical enterprise. Washington followed this 
example by granting connnissions to vessels to cruise in the vicinity 
of Boston, with the object alreadv stated. But a due examination 
of the practical measures of that day, will render it necessary to 
separate the subject into three branches; viz. one that refers solely to 
the exertions of private, and frequently of unauthorised adventures; 
anotherthat shall speak of the proceedings of the difft'rent colonies; 
ami a last, which more properly com])rises the theme of this work, 
that shall refer to the policy pursued by Congress, in behalf of the 
entire nation. In making these distinctions, we shall be compelled 
to use brevity, as but ftw authentic authorities now exist, and because 
the sumeness and unimportance of many of the details deprive the 
subject of any interest beyond that which is connected with a proper 
understanding of the true condition of the country. 

The first nautical enterprise that succeeded the battle of Lexing- 
ton, was one purely of private adventure. The intelligence of this 
conflict was brought to Machias in Maine, on Saturday, the 9th of 
May, 1775. An armed schooner in the service of the crown, called 
the Margaretta, Was lying in port, with two sloops under her convoy. 



44 NAVAL HISTORY. [1775. 

that were loading with kimber on behalf of the King's government. 
The bearers of the news were enjoined to be silent, a plan to cap- 
ture the Margaretta having been immediately projected among some 
of the more spirited of the iidiabitants. The next day being Sunday, 
it was hoped that the officers of the schooner might be siei«ed while 
in church, but the scheme failed in con&equence of the pr^ipitation 
of some engaged. Captain Moore, who commanded the IMargaretta, 
saw the assailants, and, with his officers, escaped through tlie win- 
dows of the church to the shore, where they were protected by the 
guns of their vessel. The alarm was now taken, springs were got 
on the Margaretta's cables, and a few harmless shot were fired over 
the town, by way of intimidation. After a little delay, however, the 
schooner dropped doAvn below the town, to a distance exceeding a 
league. Here she was followed, summoned to surrender, and fired 
on from a high bank, which her own shot could not reach. The 
Margaretta again weighed, and running into the bay, at the con- 
fluence of the two rivers, anchored. 

The following morning, which was Monday, the 11th of May, 
four young men took possession of one of the lumber sloops, and 
bringin"- her alongside of a wharf, they gave three cheers as a signal 
for volunteers. On explaining that their intentions were to make an 
attack on the Margaretta, a party of about thirty-five athletic men 
was soon collected. Arming themselves with fire-arms, pitchforks, 
and axes, and throwing a small stock of provisions into the sloop, 
these spirited freemen made sail on their craft, with a light breeze at 
northwest. When the Margaretta observed the approach of the 
sloop she weighed and crowded sail to avoid a conflict that was every 
way undesirable, her commander not yet being apprised of all the 
facts that had occurred near Boston. In jibing, the schooner 
carried away her main-boom, but continuing to stand on, she ran 
into Holmes's Bay, and took a spar out of a vessel that was lying 
there. While these repairs were making, the sloop hove in sight 
a"-ain, and the Margaretta stood out to sea, in the hope of avoiding 
her. The breeze freshened, and, with the Avind on the quarter, the 
sloop proved to be the better sailer. So anxious was the Margaretta 
to avoid a collision, that Captain Moore now cut away his boats; but 
finding this ineflectual, and that his assailants were fast closing with 
him, he ojiened a fire, the schooner having an armament of four light 
guns, aiul fourteen swivels. A man was killed onboard the sloop, 
which immediately returned the fire with a wall piece. This dis- 
charge killed the man at the Margaretta's helm, and cleared her 
quarter-deck. The schooner broaclied to, when the sloop gave a 
general discharge. Almost at the same instant the two vessels came 
foul of e veil other. A short conflict now took place with musketry, 
Captain Moore throwing hand grenades, with considerable effect, in 
person. This officer was immediately afterv/ards shot down, how- 
ever, when the people of the sloop boarded and took possession of 
iheir prize. 

The loss of life in this affiiir was not very great, though twenty 
men, on both sides, are said to have l)een killed and wounded. The 



1775.] NAVAL HISTORY. 45 

force of the Margaretta, even in men, was much the most consider- 
abJe, though the crew of no reguUir cruiser can ever equal in spirit 
and energy a body of vohmteers assembled on an occasion like this. 
There was originally no commander in the sloop, but previously to 
engaging the schooner, Jeremiah O'Brien was selected for that 
station. This afl'air was the Lexington of the sea, for like that cele- 
brated land conflict, it was a rising of the people against a regular 
force, was characterised by a long chase, a bloody struggle, and a 
triumph. It was also the first blow struck on the water, after the 
war of the American Revolution had actually commenced. 

The armament of the Margaretta was transferred to a sloop, and 
Mr. O'Brien made an attack on two small English cruisers that were 
said to have been sent out from Halifax, exjjressly to capture him. 
By separating these vessels, he took them both, with little resistance, 
and the prisoners were all carried to Watertown, where the provin- 
cial legislature of Massachusetts was then assembled. The gallantry 
and good conduct of Mr. O'Brien was so generally admired, that he 
was immediately appointed a captain in the marine of the colony, 
and sent on the coast with his two last prizes, with orders to intercept 
vessels bringing supplies to the royal forces. 

Many adventures or enterprises, more or less resembling these of 
Captain O'Brien, took place on different parts of the coast, though 
none of so brilliant and successful a character. Byway of retalia- 
tion, and with a view to intimidate, the English commander-in-chief, 
Admiral Graves, sent a force under tlie orders of Captain Mowat, to 
destroy the town of Falmouth, and four hundred buildings were 
burned. An attempt to land, however, was repulsed, when the ships 
retired. This and similar steps, produced the law of 3Iassachusetts, 
already mentioned as having been passed in Nov. 1775, granting 
commissions and directing the seizure of British vessels under certain 
circumstances, and which consequently put an end to the expeditions 
we have classed among the unauthorised. 

The colony of Massachusetts had recourse to energetic measui'es 
for annoying the enemy on the coast, and for pi'ocuring military 
supplies. Many small vessels were fitted out by that as well as by 
other colonies, and ships were sent in difljerent directions with a view 
to purchase the stores that could not be seized. 

The want of powder, in particular, was so severely felt, that all 
practicable means were adopted with a desire to obtain it. Among 
others, General Washington borrowed two schooners of Massachu- 
setts and sent them into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, under the orders 
of Captain Broughton, to intercept two brigs, that were known to be 
bound to Quebec, with military stores. The brigs were not seen, but 
ten other English vessels were captured by Captain Broughton, all 
of which were released as not coming within the hostilities meditated 
by Congress. 

That body, however, was by no means blind to the importance 
of naval means of defence, without which no war can ever be con- 
ducted with credit and success by a country situated like America; 
and we now have properly arrived at the period when it is necessary 



46 NAVAL HISTORY. [1775. 

to advert to tlie acts and legislation of tlie (ieneral Govenunent on 
this interesting subject. 

Soon after lie assumed tlie command of the tioops before Boston, 
General Washlng'ton, who so dee])ly felt the want of munitions of 
war of nearly every descrijition, issued several commissions to dif- 
ferent small vessels, giving their commanders instructions to cruise 
in or near Massachusetts Bay, in order to intercept the British 
store ships. 

The first vessel that got to sea under this arrangement, was the 
schooner Lee, Captain John Manly, which sailed from Marblehead 
near the close of JNoveniber. On the 29th, Captain Manly fell in 
with and captured the English brig Nancy, having on board ordnance 
stores, several brass guns, a considerable stock of fire-arms, and 
various military sujjplies. Among otlier things of this iiature, was 
a large mortar, which was justly deemed an important addition to 
the means of a besieging army; for, uj) to this time, the Americans 
before Boston were particularly in want of artillery of every sort. On 
the 8th of December, Captain 3Iaidy captured three more store-ships, 
and succeeded in getting all his prizes safely into port. 

Although it may not be strictly true to term the Lee, and the otJicr 
sliiall cruisers similarly employed, the first vessels that ever belonged 
to the General Government of this country, they may he deemed the 
first that ever actually sailed with authority to cruise in behalf of the 
entire repub.lic. But, while avc accord this precedency to Captain 
Manly and his associates, who acted under the orders of AVashing- 
ton. Congress itself had not been altogether idle, and it is probable 
that the Commander-in-Chief took the step just mentioned in ac- 
cordance with the expressed views of that body. 

The first legislation of Congress on the subject of a navy, preceded 
the law of Massachusetts, in point of time, though the act was word- 
ed with greater reserve. On the 13th of October, 1775, a law passed 
ordering one vessel of 10 guns, and another of 14 guns to be equipped 
as national cruisers, and to be sent to the eastward on a cruise of 
three months, to intercept supplies for the royal troops. On the 
29th of the same month a resolution ])assed denying to private ships 
of war and merchant vessels the right to wear pennants in the pres- 
ence of" continental ships, or vessels of war," without the permission 
of the commanding officers of the latter. This law was framed in 
a proper spirit, and manifested an intention to cause the authorised 
agents of the public on the high sea, to be properly respected; it 
excites a smile, however, when we remember that the whole marine 
of the country consisted, at the time, of two small vessels that were 
not yet equipped. The next day another law passed, authorising 
the fitting out of two more cruisers, one to carry 20, and the otlier 
36 guns. 

A change in this cautious policy was produced by the depreda- 
tions committed by the vessels under the command of Captain 
Mowat. When the intelligence of that ruthless proceeding reached 
Philadelphia, it produced a general prize law, with authority to 
capture all British vessels that were in any manner connected with 



1775.] NAVAL HISTORY. 47 

tlie pendinj? struggle. As the country still acknowledged its con- 
nexion with tlie crown, perliii|)s this reserve in conducting the war, 
was, in a measure, due to sound policy. This law was followed by 
another, passed December iJJth, ordering 1;3 sail of cruisers, to be 
constructed. Of the latter vessels, three were to be of'i4 ginis, five 
of 28, and five of 32. Thus Congress, ])reviously to the end of the 
year 1775, had authorised a regular marine, to consist of seventeen 
cruisers, varying in force from 10 to 3*2 guns. The keels of the 
ships alluded to m the last law, were ordered to be laid, in the four 
colonies of New England, in New York, Pennsylvania and Mary- 
land. The following is a list of their manies and respective rates, as 
well as of the colony where each was built, viz: 

-Pennsylvania. 
-New Hampshire. 
-]\[assachusetts. 
-Pennsylvania. 
-Rhode Island. 
-Maryland. 
-Connecticut. • 
-Pennsylvania. 
-New York. 
-Rhode Island. 
-Massachusetts. 
-Pennsylvania. 
-New York. 

These vessels appear to have been judiciously appointed in order 
to effect the object in view. The resources of America did not ad- 
mit of the construction of ships of a si/e fit to contend with the fieets 
of England, and had the colonies been in a condition even to make 
such an exhibition of their power, the time necessary to organise a 
proper marine, the want of navy yards, and the impossibility of pro- 
curing, in season, naval stores of the required quality, would have 
prevented them from attempting it. The ships ordered were large 
enough to resist the small cruisers of the crown, and were well 
adapted to destroy convoys, and to capture transports and store-ships. 
We are not, however, to estimate their force by the manner of rating, 
as compared with similar rates in our own time, the art of ship-build- 
ing and the mode of equipping vessels of war, having undergone 
great changes since the commencement of the American Revolution. 
Frigates, at that day, were usually vessels varying from six hundred 
to a thousaiul tons, and rarely carried in their main deck batteries, 
guns of a metal heavier than eighteen pounders. There Avas usually 
no spar-deck, but the forecastle and quarter-deck were connected by 
gangways, with gratings to cover a part, or even all of the inter- 
mediate space. The armaments above were light sixes, nines, or 
twelves, according to the respective rates, but were commonly of 
trifling account. Carronades had not then been invented, though 
they fir-st came into use during this war. This gun obtains its name 



Washington, 


32- 


Raleigh; 


32- 


Hancock, 


32- 


Randol|)h, 


32- 


Warren, 


32 


Virginia, 


2S- 


Trumbull, 


28- 


Effingham, 


28- 


Congress, 


28- 


Providence, 


28- 


Boston, 


24 


Delaware, 


21 


Montgomery, 


24 



48 NAVAL HISTORY. [1775. 



from the circumstance of its having" been first made at the village of 
Carron, in Scotland, a place celebrated for its foundries, as the bayo- 
net derives its appellation from Bayonne in France. It is believed 
it was first used with efl!ect, in the battle between Lord Rodney and 
the Comte de Grasse, when it was found to be an arm of more effi- 
ciency than had been generally anticipated. For some time its use 
was confined to the English, nor did it make its way into the Ameri- 
can marine, until the commencement of the present century, or the 
very close of the last. Most of the ships mentioned in the list jus* 
given, were armed with nines and twelves, havin<^ sixes, and even 
fours, on their quarter-decks and forecastles. It is thought that there 
was no regular eighteen pounder frigate constructed under the 
laws of 1775. 

Bad as was the condition of the Colonies, as respects naval stores, 
and the munitions of war, the country might be said to be even worse 
off for persons suited to form a navy list. There was no lack of 
competent navigators, or of brave seamen, but the high moral quali- 
ties which are indispensable to the accomplished officer, were hardly 
to be expected among those who had received all their training- iu 
the rude and imperfect schools of the merchant service. Still, as a 
whole, the merchant seamen of America were of a class superior to 
those of most other nations; the very absence of a regular mai'ine, 
which induced young men of enterprise to incur the dangei's of the 
seas in this mode in preference to remaining on shore, and the moral 
superiority of the level of the population, producing such a result. It 
has been said tliat the gentry of the countiy had begun to place their 
sons in the British marine, previously to the commencement of this 
war; but, while many instances occurred in Avhich Americans threw 
up their commissions in the British army, in preference to serving 
against their native land, very few of those who had taken service in 
the navy, followed their example. The second nature that the sea- 
man acquires in time, appears to have drawn the cord too tight to 
suffer it to be snapped even by the violent struggles of a civil war, 
and most of the young men who were born in the colonies, and who 
found themselves aiTayed against their proper country, on board the 
ships of the king, continued to serve with the undiminished zeal and 
singleness of purpose, that is apt to distinguish the fidelity of a sea- 
man to his flag.* The Committee of Congress, to which the duties 
of a Navy Department were assigned, was compelled, in consequence 
of these difficulties, to select the new corps of officers, principally, from 
such conspicuous persons among the masters and mates of merchant 
ships as the country afforded; a few of those who had been trained 
in the English marine, but who had left it previously to the struggle, 
excepted. The result was such as might have been anticipated. 
While many gallant and suitable men were chosen, some of ihe 
corps had little to recommend them besides their practical knowledge 
of seamanship. These were valuable qualities, certainly, but the 
habits of subordination, the high feelings of personal pride and self^ 

* W'e can discover but a snm;le instance of an American's quitting the English navy 
on account of the war, though it is probable more occurred. 



1775.] NAVAL HISTORY. 49 

respect that create an esprit de corps, and the moral courage and lofty 
sentiments that come in time, to teach the trained officer to beheve 
any misfortune preferable to professional disgrace, were not always 
to be expected under such circumstances. In short, a service created 
iutliis informal manner, must necessarily depend more on accidental 
and natural qualities for its success, than on that acquired character 
which has been found to be so competent a substitute, and which is 
altogether indispensable when there is a demand for the complicated 
and combined movements that can alone render any arm efficient 
throughout a series of years. It is true, that the colonies had i)os- 
sessed an irregular school for the training of officers, in their provin- 
cial cruisers, or guarda-costas; but it was neither sufficiently ex- 
tended, not sufficiently disciplined, to affiard the supply that was now 
demanded by the extraordinary exigencies of the times. 

The documents connected with the early history of the navy of the 
country, were never kept with sufficient method, and the few that did 
exist have become much scattered and lost, in consequence of there 
having been no regular navy department; the authority of this branch 
of the government having been exercised throughout the whole wai-, 
by Committees and Hoards, the members of which have probably 
retained many documents of interest, as vouchers to authenticate 
their own proceedings. 

Among other defects it has become impossible to establish, in all 
cases, who did and who did not actually serve in the marine of the 
United States, officers so frequently passing from the privateers into 
the public vessels, and from the public vessels to the privateers, as to 
leave this important branch of our subject involved in much obscurity. 
Before we enter more fully into the details on which reliance can be 
placed, it may be well, also, to explain that the officers in the navy 
of the Confedei-ation derived their authority from different sources, 
a circumstance that adds to the difficulties just mentioned. In a 
good many instances Congress made the appointments by direct 
resolutions of its own, as will appear in the case of the officers first 
named. Subsequently, the Marine Committee possessed tliis power; 
and, in the end, not only did the diplomatic agents of the Govenmient 
abroad exercise this high trust, but even the commanders of squadrons 
and of ships were put in possession of blank commissions to be filled 
at their particular discretion. It will easily be understood, how 
much this looseness in managing an interest of so much moment, 
increases the difficulty of obtaining the truth. 

That the brave men who acted under the authority of Washington, 
at the commencement of the contest, were not in the navy, is evident 
from the circumstance that several of them obtained rank in the ser- 
vice, as the reward of their conduct while cruising in the sort of semi- 
official vessels that have already been mentioned. It has been said, 
that the first regular legislation of Congress, in reference to a marine,, 
with a view to resist the aggressions of the British Parliament, dates 
from a resolution of that body, passed the 13th of October, 1775.. 
This resolution directed a committee of three, Messrs. Deane, Lang- 
don and Gadsden, to fit out two swift-sailing vessels, the one of ten, 

VOL. I. 4 



NAVAL HISTORY. [1781, 



and the other of fourteen guns, to cruise to the eastward, to intercept 
the supphes and transports intended for the British army at Boston. 
Under this law it is bcheved that a brig called the Lexington, and a 
sloop named the Providence were equipped; though it does not ap- 
pear that either went on the particular duty named in the resolution. 
On the 30th of the same month, the committee was increased to 
seven, and a ship of 36 guns, and another of 20, were ordered to be 
provided. Under this law the Alfred and Columbus were purchased, 
though neither was of the force implied by the highest rate named. 
The first of these ships is said to have had a main-deck battery of 20 
nines, while her armament on the quarter-deck and forecastle, varied 
in the course of her service, from ten guns to two. At the end of her 
career she carried no guns above. Less is known of the Columbus, 
but she is believed to have had a gun-deck battery of 18 nines. 
Both were clumsy and crank ships, and neither proved to be a very 
o'ood sailer. 

On the 13th of December, of the same year, Congress directed the 
thirteen ships of war to be built, and the next day the Marine Com- 
mittee was so far increased as to contain one member from each 
colony ; all the proceedings that have yet been mentioned, havmg 
been directed rather to a redress of grievances, than to independence. 
It will aid in understanding how complicated the business of the 
navy became, if we here give a brief outline of the various modes 
that were adopted in managing its affairs. To the committee last 
named, very extensive powers were given ; but in November, 1776, 
a " Continental Navy Board," of three competent persons, was estab- 
lished as subordinate to this committee ; one being termed the 
" Eastern Board," and the other the " Board of the Middle Dis- 
trict." A large portion of the executive functions of the " Marine 
Committee" devolved on these two " Boards." In October, 1779, 
this mode of proceeding was changed, and a " Board of Admiralty" 
was established, consisting of three commissioners who were not in 
Congress, and two that were. Of this Board an}^ three were com- 
petent to act. In January, 1781, James Reed was appointed, by 
special resolution, to manage the affairs of the " Navy Board" in 
the " Middle Department ;" and in February of the same year, 
Alexander McDougall, a Major General in the army, who had been 
a seaman in his youth, was chosen " Secretary of the Marine." In 
August of the same year, the entire system was changed, by the 
appointment of an " Agent of the Marine," who had full control of 
the service, subject to the resolutions of Congress, and who super- 
seded all the committees, boards, and agents, that had been pre- 
viously established by law. Here closed the legislation of Congress 
on this branch of the subject, though Ave shall add that the duties of 
" Agent of Marine," subsequently devolved on the " Superintendent 
of Finances," the celebrated Robert Morris, a gentleman, who ap- 
pears, throughout the war, to have had more control over the affairs 
of the navy, than any other civilian in the country. To return to the 
order of time. 



1775.] NAVAL HISTORY. 51 

Oil the 22d of December, 1775, Congress passed the following 
resolutions, viz : — 

" Resolved, that the following naval officers be appointed: 

Esek Hopkins, Esquire, Commander-in-Chief. 

Dudley Saltonstall, Captain of the Alfred. 

Abraham Whipple, do. do. Columbus. 

Nicholas Biddle, do. do. Andrea Doria. 

John B. Hopkins, do. do. C^bot. 

First Lieutenants, John Paul Jones, Rhodes Arnold, 

Stansburj, Hoysted Hacker, Jonathan Pitcher. 

Second Lieutenants, Benjamin Scabury, Joseph Olney, Elisha 

Warner, Thomas Weaver, McDougal. 

Tliii'd Lieutenants, John Fanning, Ezekiel Burroughs, Daniel 
Vaughan. 

" Resolved, that the pay of the Commander-in-Chief of the fleet, 
be one hundred and twenty-fiv e dollars a month." 

By this law it will be seen that Mr. Hopkins was not made a cap- 
tain, but the "Commander-in-Chief," a rank that was intended to 
correspond in the navy, to that held by Washington in the army. 
His official appellation, among seamen, appears to have been tliat 
of " Commodore," though he was frequently styled " Admiral," in 
the papers of that period. The captains were particularly named 
to the respective ships, and the law was so construed, that the lieu- 
tenants were attached to the different vessels in the order in which 
they were respectively named. 

By this resolution, or law, it would appear that two brigs, the 
Andrea Doria, and the Cabot, had been purchased, most probably 
by the Marine Committee, previously to its passage. Of the precise 
force of the latter vessel no authentic account can be found, but it is 
thought to have been 16 sixes. It appears by a letter of Paul Jones, 
however, that tbe armament of the Doria was 14 fours, and the Cabot 
may have been of the same force. 

The equipment of all the vessels mentioned, as well as of two or 
three more of less size, was going on in the autumn of 1775, the 
appointment of their officers was made at the close of the year, and 
the first ensign ever shown by a regular American man-of-war, was 
hoisted in the Delaware, on board the Alfred, by the hands of Paul 
Jones, some time about the last of December. This event could 
not have occurred previously to the vote appointing a commander- 
in-chief, as we are expressly told that the flag was shown when that 
officer first repaired on board his ship. What that ensign was, is not 
now certainly known, but it is thought to have been a device repre- 
senting a pine tree, with a rattlesnake about tojstrike, coiled at its 
root, and bearing the motto " don't tread on me." It is certain that 
such a flag was used, at the commencement of the Revolution, and 
on board of some of the vessels of war, though whether this was the 
flag worn by the Alfred is not quite so clear. Most of the privateers 
of the period either wore the arms of the colony from which they 
sailed, and by which they were authorised to cruise, or they also 
showed devices of their own, according to the conceits of the differ- 



52 NAVAL HISTORY. [1777. 



ent captains and owners. It was not until 1777, tliat Congress 
forniallj adopted the present national colours. 

The first regular cruisers that ever got to sea under the new gov- 
ernment were the Hornet 10, and Wasp 8, a sloop and a schooner 
that had been equipped at Baltimore by the Marine Committee, and 
which sailed in November, to join the squadron under Commodore 
Hopkins, in the Delaware. This passage, however, cannot properly 
be called a cruise. For the first of these we must refer to the 
squadron itself. This distinction has been claimed for the Lexing- 
ton, Capt. Barry, and we have so stated the fact, in the earlier edi- 
tions of this book ; but an examination of tlie private papers of that 
officer, has shown us that he was actually employed on shore, or in 
the Delaware, for a short time after Com. Hopkins got to sea. The 
first regular cruise, therefore, ever made in a vessel of the United 
States, was that made by the squadron, of which Ave are about to 
relate the movements. 

The plans of Congress had changed between the time when the 
vessels were first ordered and that on which they were ready for 
service. Commodore Hopkins was accordingly directed to proceed 
to the southward, with a view to act against the naval force, which 
was then ravaging the coast of Virginia, under Lord Dunmore. The 
squadron got into the Bay, and rendezvoused under Cape Henlopen, 
early in February. It consisted of the Alfred 24, Columbus 20, 
Doria 14, Cabot 14, Providence 12, Hornet 10, Wasp 8, and Fly 
despatch vessel. With this force Commodore Hopkins went to sea 
on the 17th of Februaiy. On the night of the 19th, as the squadron 
was steering south with a fresh breeze, the Hornet and Fly parted 
company, and did not join again during the cruise. No vessel of 
any importance was met until the ships reached Abaco, in the Ba- 
hamas, where the squadron had been ordered to rendezvous. Here 
Commodore Hopkins determined to make a descent on New Provi- 
dence, where it was understood a considerable amount of military 
stores v/as collected. For this purpose, a body of 300 men, marines 
and landsmen, under the command of Captain Nichols, the senior 
marine officer of the service, was put into two sloops, with the hope 
of surprising the place. As the squadron approached the town, 
however, an alarm Avas given, Avhen the sloops Avere sent in, Avith the 
Providence 12, and Wasp 8, to cover the landing. This duty Avas 
handsomely performed, and Captain Nichols got complete possession 
of the forts, and entire command of the place, iu the course of the 
afternoon, and of the following morning, after a very insignificant 
resistance. Unfortunately, the governor, aware of the motive of the 
descent, found means to send aAvay a considerable quantity of poAv- 
der during the night. Near a hundred cannon, and a large quantity 
of other stores, however, fell into the hands of the Americans. On 
this occasion, the first that ever occurred in the regular American 
Navy, the marines under Captain Nichols, appear to have behaved 
witli the spirit and steadiness that have distinguished the corps, from 
tliat hour down to the present moment. 

After retaining possession a few days. Commodore Hopkins left 



1776.] NAVAL HISTORY. 



New Providence on the 17th of March, bringing away with him the 
governor and one or two men of note, and shaping his course to the 
northward. Some of the smaller vessels appear to have left him, as 
lie proceeded along the coast, but, with the most of his force in com- 
pany, he arrived ofi'the east end of Long Island, early in April. 
On the 4th, he captured a tender of six guns, commanded bv a son 
of Commodore Wallace, and on the 5th he fell in with and took a 
British Bomb Erig Bolton 8, Lieutenant Snead. 

About one o'clock in the morning of the 6th of April, the squadron 
being a little scattered, a large ship was discovered steering towards 
the Alfred. The wind was light, and the sea quite smooth, and 
about two, the stranger having gone about, the Cabot closed with 
him, and hailed. Soon after the latter fired a broadside. The first 
discharge of this little vessel appears to have been well directed, but 
her metal was altogether too light to contend with an enemy like the 
one she had assailed. In a few minutes she was compelled to haul 
aboard her tacks, to get from under tlie guns of her antagonist, hav- 
ing had her captain severely wounded, her master killed, and a good 
many of her people injured. 

The Altred now took the place of the Cabot, ranging handsomely 
alongside of the enemy and delivering her fire. Soon after, the » 
Providence got under the stern of the English siiip, and the Andrea 
Doria was enabled to come near enough to do some service. The 
Cohimbus was kept at a distance for want of wind. After a smart 
cannonade of near an hour, the block and wheel-rope of the Alfred 
were shot away, and the ship broached to ; by which accident the 
enemy was enabled to rake her with eftect. Being satisfied, how- 
ever, that the victory Avas impossible, the English commander 
profited by this accident, to put his helm up, and brought all the 
American vessels astern. Sailing better than any of the squadron, 
most of which were deep, as welL as dull, in consequence of the can- 
non and stores they had taken on board, the enemy slowly but 
steadily gained on his pursuers, though a warm caimonade was kept 
up by both parties until past daylight. By six o'clock the ships had 
got so fiir to the eastward, that Commodore Hopkins felt apprehen- 
sive the firing Avould bring out the Newport squadron, and seeing 
fittlc chance of overtaking the chase, he made a signal for his ves- 
sels to haul by the wind. Capturing a tender that was in company ^ 
with the ship that had escaped, the squadron now went into New 
London, the port to which it was bound. 

The vessel that engaged the American ships, on this occasion, was 
the Glasgow 20, Captain Tyringham Howe, with a crew of about 
one hmidrcd and fifty souls. In every thing but the number of her 
men the Glasgow was probably superior to any one ship in the 
American squadron, but her close encounter with, and eventual es- 
cape from so many vessels, reflected great credit on her commander. 
She was a good deal cut up, notwithstanding, and had four men 
killed and wounded. On the other hand, botii the Alfred and the 
Cabot suffered materially, the foi-mer from having been raked, and 
the latter from lying alongside a vessel so much her superior in force. 



54 NAVAL HISTORY. [1776. 

The Alfred and Cabot had twenty-three men killed and Avoiinded, 
and one man on board the Columbus lost an arm while in the chase. 
The result of this first essay of the American navy, when an- 
nounced, caused much exultation in the country. The affair was 
represented as a sort of victory, in which three lii^ht vessels of war 
had been taken, and one of force compelled to run. A short time, 
however, served to correct these errors, and public opinion probably 
went as far in the opposite extreme, where it would seem to have 
been permanently fixed, by subsequent historians. The great error 
of Commodore Hopkins was in sufferin:^ so small a vessel as the Ca- 
bot to run close alongside of a ship of the Glasgow's force, when the 
first attack should have been made by the Alfred. Had the Cabot 
delivered two or three as effectual broadsides from a favourable po- 
sition, as the first she fired, while the Glasgow was occupied by a 
heavier ship, it is highly probable the enemy would have been cap- 
tured. Commodore Hopkins betrayed no want of spirit, but his 
crew and vessel were much inferior to the regvdarly and long trained 
people of a cruiser, and to a ship properly constructed for Avar. The 
lightness of the wind, and the obscurity of a night action, contributed 
to the disasters, as, in such circumstances, when the ship broached 
to, it required time to get her again under the command of her helm. 
The reason for not continuing the chase was sufficient, and it is 
now known that the English squadron did come out of Newport as 
soon as the Glasgow appeared, and there can be little doubt that 
Commodore Hopkins would have lost all his dull sailing vessels, 
had he gone much farther in pursuit. It ought to be added,that the 
small-pox, then a malady of fatal effect, had broken out in the ships 
while they were at New Providence, and it probably had an influ- 
ence on their efficiency. The Doria, in particular, was known to 
be nearly useless from the number of cases on board. 

This was hardly the feeling of the country, notwithstanding', for 
nations are seldom just under disgrace, imaginary or real. Commo- 
dore Hopkins was left in command some time long^er, it is true, and 
he carried the squadron to Rhode Island, a few weeks after his arri- 
val, but he never made another cruise in the navy. On the 16th of 
October, Congress passed a vote of censure on him, for not perform- 
ing tlie duties on wliich he had been sent to the soutliward, and on 
the 2d of January, 1777, by a vote of tiiat body, he was formally 
dismissed from th.e service. No commander-in-chief was subse- 
quently ajipointed, though such a measure was recommended to the 
natioiud legislature by a committee of its own body, August 24th, 
1781. 

As an offset to the escape of the Glasgow, the Lexington, Captaiii 
Barry, which had sailed from the Delaware some weeks after the 
squadron got to sea, fell in with the Edward, an armed tender of 
the Liverpool, on the 17th of April, off the Capes of Virginia, and 
after a close and spirited action of near an hour, captured her. The 
Lexington had four of her crew killed and wounded, while the Ed- 
ward was nearly cut to pieces, and met with a very heavy compara- 
tive losb in men. 



1776.] NAVAL HISTORY. 55 

It may better connect the liistoiy of this Httle brig, if we add here, 
that she went to the West Indies the following October, under the 
command of Captain Ilallock, and on her return was captured near 
the spot where she had taken the Liverpool's tender, by the Pearl 
frigate. It was blowing fresh at the time, and, after taking out of 
his prize a few officers, and putting a crew on board of her, the com- 
mander of the Pearl ordered her crew to follow his own ship. That 
night the Americans rose, and overpovverii)2: the prize crew, they 
carried the brig into Baltimore. The Lexinjiton was immediately 
recommissioned, under the orders of Captain Johnston, and in 
March of the succeeding year she sailed for Europe, where there 
will soon be occasion to note her movements. This little vessel 
mounted IC 4 lb guns, and, under Barry, had a crew of 70 souls, 
all told. 



CHAPTER V. 



Paul Jones — His first cniisc as a Commander — Additional vessels ordered by Congress 
— Law reg:ulating the rank of officers — Tlie Andrea Doria, Capt. Biddlc, takes sev- 
eral prizes — The Defence, Capt. Harding, after a sharp action, captures two English 
schooners — Cruise of the Providence and Alfred — Cruise of the Reprisal in Europe — 
Of the Lexington do. — Cruises of Capt. Wickes — Lexington taken — Loss of the 
Reprisal — Cruises of Capt. Conyugham. 

When the American squadron had got into Newport it became 
useless, through want of men. Many of the seamen having entered 
for the cruise only, and Congress having authorised the capture of 
all British vessels in INIarch, so many persons were now induced to 
go on board the privateers, that crews were not easily obtained for the 
vessels of war. It is a singular feature of the times, too, that the 
sudden check to navigation, and the delay in authorising general 
captures, had driven a great many of the seamen into the army. It 
is also easy to imagine that the service was out of favour, after the 
affair with the Glasgow, for by events as trifling as this, are the 
opinions of ordinary men usually influenced. 

It has been said that the vessels were carried to Providence, Rhode 
Island, and soldiers were borrowed from the army, in order to effect 
even this. At Providence, courts martial, the usual attendants of 
military misfortunes, were assembled to judge the delinquents. Cap- 
tain Whipple, of the Columbus, was tried for not aiding the Alfred 
in the action with the Glasgow, and seems to have been acquitted. 
Captain Hazard of the Providence, was cashiered, though it does 
not appear on what charge. 

The day after the dismissal of her former commander, or May 
the 10th, 1776, Paul Jones was directed by Commodore Hopkins 
lo take charge of the Providence, and to carry the borrowed soldiers 
to New York, there to enlist a regular crew, and return to the sta- 



56 NAVAL HISTOitV. [1776. 

tion. This duty having been succossfully performed, the sloop was 
hove out, cleaned, refitted, armed and niauucd for a cruise. On the 
13th of June, Captain Jones sailed from Newport with a convoy 
loaded with military stores, which he saw into Long Island Sound, 
a service attended with risk on account of the numerous cruisers of 
the enemy. While thus employed, Captain Jones covered the es- 
cape of a brig from St. Domingo, laden also with military stores, 
and bound to New York. This brig was soon after brought into the 
sen'ice, and became the Hamden, 14. After performing this duty, 
the Providence was employed in cruising between Boston and the 
Delaware, and she even ran as far south as Bermuda. On the 1st 
of September, while on the latter service, this little sloop made five 
sail, one of which was mistaken for a large merchantman- On get- 
ting near the latter vessel, she proved to be a light English frigate, 
and a flist sailer. After a chase of four hours by the wind, anJ in 
a cross sea, the enemy had so far gained on the Providence as to be 
within musket-shot, on her lee-quarter. The stranger had early 
opened with his chase guns, and the Providence now returned the 
fire with her light four pounders, showing her colours. Perceiving 
that capture, or some bold expedient must soon determine his fote, 
Captain Jones kept edging away, until he had got rather on the lee 
bow of the enemy, when the Providence suddenly went otf dead be- 
fore the wind, setting every thing that would draw. This unexpected 
manoeuvre brought the two vessels within pistol-shot, but the English 
ship having been takeji^ompletely by surprise, before she could get 
her light sails set, the sloop was nearly out of reach of grape. The 
Providence sailed the best before the wind, and in less than an hour 
she had drawn quite beyond the reach of shot, and finally escaped. 
This aflair has been represented as an enoagement of several hours 
with the Solebay, 28, but, as has been said, it was little more than a 
clever artifice, in which Captain Jones discovered much steadiness 
and address. Not a shot touched the Providence, though the Sole- 
bay fired a hundred. 

Captain Jones now went to the eastward, where he made several 
prizes. Here he Avas chased by the Milford 32, and finding he could 
easily outsail her, he kept just out of gun-shot for several hours, the 
enemy, who measured his distance badly, firing most of the time. 
This afi*air has also been exairgerated into a running fight. 

After this chase the Providence went upon the coast, oft' Canseau, 
and did much damage to the enemy's fishermen, taking no less than 
twelve sail. Having made sixteen prizes, in all, some of which were 
valuable. Captain Jones returned to Newport. 

Ere the return of the Providence, independence was declared, and 
Congress had set about a more regular organisation of the navy. 
October the 3d, it ordered another frigate and two cutters to be built ; 
and November the 9th, a law was passed, authorising the construc- 
tion of three seventA'-fours, five more frigates, a sloop of war and a 
packet. In January of the succeeding year, another frigate and 
another sloop of war, were commanded. Eight of the prizes were 
also directed to be taken into the service, in the course of the years 



1776.] NAVAL HISTORY. 57 

1776 and 1777, while, as the war proceeded, divers sniall vessels 
were directed to be built, or purchased. 

But the most important step taken by Congress, at this time, was 
a law regulating- the rank of the different officers, which had hith- 
erto been very uncertain, and had led to many disputes. By a reso- 
lution passed, April the 17th, 1776, Congress had declared that rank 
should not be regulated by the dates of the original appointments, 
reserving to itself the power to say who should command, when it 
had ascertained who were disposed to serve. But it had now de- 
clared the nation independent of the King of Great Britain, and 
there was a long and bloody war in perspective, before that inde- 
pendence could be recognised. It was time to reduce the confused 
elements of the service to order, and to quiet the disputes and claims 
of individuals, by an exercise of sovereign power. A resolution was 
accordingly passed on the 10th of October, 1776, directing that the 
captains in the navy should take rank in the following order, viz : 

13. John B. Hopkins, 

14. John Hodge, 
William Hallock, 
Hoystcd Hacker, 
Isaiah Robin.son, 
John Paul Jones, 
James Josiah, 
Elisha Hinman, 
Joseph Olney, 
James Robinson, 
John Young, 
Elisha Warner. 

TJ)e Marine Committee was empowered to arrange the rank of the 
inferior officers. At this time Commodore Hopkins was command- 
er-in-Chief, and he continued to serve in that capacity until the com- 
mencement of the following January, when Captain Nicholson be- 
came the senior officer of the navy, with the rank of captain only. 
When the law regulating rank was passed, the vessels of the navy, 
in service, or in t!ie course of construction, were as follows ; the 
word building, which is put after most of them, referring as well to 
those which had just been launched as to those that were still on the 
stocks ; a few of the former, however, were nearly ready for sea. 
List of vessels in the United States Navy, October, 1776. 

Hancock, 32, building at Boston. 

Randolph, 32, do. Philadelphia. 

Raleigh, 32, do. Portsmouth, N. II. 

Washington, 32, do. Philadelphia. 

Warren, 32, do. Rhode Island. 

Trumbull, 2S, do. Connecticut. 

Effingham, 2S, do. Philadelphia. 

Congress, 28, do. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 

Virginia, 28, do. Maryland. 



1. 


James Nicholson, 


13. 


2. 


John Manly, 


14, 


3. 


Hector McNiel, 


15. 


4. 


Dudley Saltonstall, 


16. 


.5. 


Nicholas Biddle, 


17. 


6. 


Thomas Thompson, 


18. 


7. 


John Barry, 


19. 


8. 


Thomas Read, 


20. 


9. 


Thomas Grennall, 


21. 


10. 


Charles Alexander, 


22. 


11. 


Lambert Wickes, 


23. 


12. 


Abraham Whipple, 


24. 



58 



NAVAL HISTORY. 



[1776. 



Providence, 


23, 


building at 


; Rhode Island. 


Boston, 


24, 




do. 


Boston. 


Delaware, 

Montgomery, 

Alfred, 


24, 
24, 
24, 


in 


do. 
do. 
service. 


Philadelphia. 
Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 


Columbus, 


20, 




do. 




Reprisal, 
Cabot, 


16, 
16, 




do. 
do. 




Hamden 


14, 




do. 




Lexington, 


14, 




do. 




Andrea Doria, 


14, 




do. 




Providence, 


12, 




do. 




Sachem, 


10, 




do. 




Independence, 
Wasp, 
Musquito, 
Fly, 


10, 

8, 
4, 




do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 





To these vessels, many of which never got to sea, must be added 
several small cruisers, that were employed by the American Com- 
missioners in Europe ; the histories of which will be given in their 
proper places ; and the vessel that parted company from Commodore 
Hopkins' squadron, on its way to New Providence. This vessel, the 
Hornet, sutiered much before she got in, and it is believed she was 
employed very little afterwards. 

When the squadron, under Commodore Hopkins, broke up, all 
the ships did not remahi idle, but the Columbus 20, made a cruise, 
imder Captain Whipple, to the eastward, and took a few prizes. 
The Andrea Doria 14, Captain Biddle, went in the same direction, 
also, and was even more successful than the Providence in annoying 
the enemy. This vessel, a little brig, carrying 14 fours, actually 
took two armed transports filled with soldiers, and made prizes of so 
many merchantmen, that, it is affirmed on plausible authority, when 
she got back into the Delaware, but five of the common men who 
composed her original crew were in her ; the rest having been put in 
the prizes, and their places supplied by volunteers from among the 
prisoners. Captain Biddle gained much credit for this cruise, and 
on his return, he was appointed to the command of the Randolph 
32, then recently launched. One of the transports, however, was 
retaken by the Cerberus frigate, and the other by her own people, 
but was again captured, and brought in. 

While tiie United States' cruisers were thus active in intercepting 
the British transports on the high seas, the colony cruiser.-j and ])riva- 
teers were l)usy in the same way in-shore. Boston had been evacu- 
ated by the enemy on the 17th of March, of this year, but vessels 
continued to arrive from England until midsummer ; the fact not be- 
inir known in time to prevent their steering towards the wrong port. 
No less tliat thirty sail fell into the hand^ of the Americans, in conse- 
quence of these mistakes. As one of the occurrences of this nature 
was, in a measure, connected with a circumstance just related in the 
cruise of the Doria, it may be properly given here. 



1776.] NAVAL HISTORY. 59 

The Connecticut colony brig Defence 14, Captain Harding, left 
Plymouth, Massachusetts, early on the morning- of the 17th of June, 
and, on working out into the bay, a desultory firing was heard to the 
northward. The Defence crowded sail in the direction of the can- 
nonading, and about dusk she fell in with four light American 
schooners, which had been in a running fight with two British trans- 
ports, that had proved too heavy for them. The transports, after 
beating ofl:' the schooners, had gone into Nantasket Roads and 
anchored. One of the schooners was the Lee 8, Captain Waters, in 
the service of Massachusetts, the little cruiser that had so successfully 
begun the maritime warfare under Captain Manly. The three others 
were privateers. 

After laying his plans with the commanders of the schooners, 
Captain Harding stood into the roads, and about eleven o'clock, at 
night, he anchored between the transports, within pistol-shot. The 
schooners followed, but did not approach near enough to be of much 
service. Some hailing now passed, and Captain Ilai'ding ordered 
the enemy to strike. A voice from tlie largest English vessel an- 
swered, " Ay, ay — I'll strike," and a broadside was immediately 
poured into the Defence. A sharp action, tiiat lasted more than an 
hour, followed, when both the English vessels struck. These trans- 
ports contained near two hundred soldiers of the same corps as those 
shortly after taken by the Doria, and on board the largest of them 
was Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, who commanded the regiment. 

In this close and sharp conflict, the Defence was a good deal cut 
up aloft, and she liad nine men wounded. The transports lost 
eighteen killed, and a large number wounded. Among the slain was 
Major Menzies, the officer who had answered the hail in the manner 
stated. 

The next morning the Defence, with the schooners in company, 
saw a sail in the bay, and gave chase. The stranger proved to be 
another transport, with more than a hundred men of the same regi- 
ment on board. Tims did about five hundred men, of one of the best ' 
corps in the British army, fill into the hands of the Americans, by \ 
means of these light cruisers. It should be remembered that, in this 
stage of the war, every capture of this nature was of double impoi*- 
tance to the cause, as it not only weakened the enemy, but checked 
his intention of treating the American prisoners as rebels, by giving 
the colonists the means of retaliation, as well as' of exchange. Colo- 
nel Campbell was subsequently imprisoned by Washington, to compel 
the English to extend better treatment to the Americans wlio had 
fallen into their hands. 

To return to the vessels left at Rhode Island. When Captain 
Jones came in from his last cruise in the Providence, a project was 
formed to send a small sqiiadron under his orders to the coast of Nova 
Scotia, with the double view of distressing the British trade, and of 
liberating about a hundred Americans who were said to be confined 
in the coal pits of tliat region. For this purpose the Alfred 24, 
Hamden 14, and Providence 12, were put under tlie orders of Cap- 
tain Jones ; but not having men enough for all three, that officer 



60 NAVAL HISTORY. [1776. 

selected the two first for his purpose. While clearing the port, the 
Ilamdeu got on a ledge of rocks, and sustained material dania<j:e. 
.The crew of the Haniden were now transferred to the Provid(?nce, 
and in the month of November Captain Jones got to sea, with both 
vessels rather short manned. A few days out, the Alfred made one 
or tAvo small captures, and soon after she fell in with, and, after a 
short condiat, took the armed ship Mellish, loaded with s\ip])lies for 
the army that was then assembling in Canada, to compose th.e expe- 
dition under General Burgoyne. On board this vessel, in addition 
to many other articles of the last importance, were ten thousand suits 
of uniform, in charge of a company of soldiers. It was said at the 
time, that the Mellish was the n)ost valuable English sliip that had 
then f dicn into the hands of the Americans. Of so much importance 
did Captain Jones consider this vessel, that he announced his inten- 
tion to keep his prize in sight, and to sink her in preference to letting 
her fall into the enemy's hands again. This resolution, however, 
was changed by circumstances. 

The Providence had ])arted company in the night, and having 
taken a letter of marque, from Liverpool, the Alfred was making the 
best of her way to Boston, with a view to get the Mellish in, when 
on the edge of George's Banks, she made the Miiford 32, the frigate 
that had chased Captain Jones the previous cruise, while in com- 
mand of the Providence. The enemy was to windward, but there 
was not time for him to close before dark. The Alfred and the letter 
of marque hauled up between the frigate and the other prizes, in 
order to cover them, and directions were given to the latter to stand 
on the same tack all ni<>ht, regardless of signals. At midnight the 
Alfred and letter of marque tacked, and the latter showed a top-light 
until morning. This artifice succeeded, the Miiford appearing in 
chase of the Alfred when the day dawned, while the Mellish and her 
consorts had all disappeared in the southern board. 

The Miiford had run to leeward in the course of the night, and 
was now on the Alfred's lee quarter. Some manoeuvi-ing took place 
to ascertain the stranger's force, for it was not then known that the 
ship in sight was actually a frigate. In the course of the day, the 
Alfred was compelled to carry sail hard, but she escaped, though the 
letter of marque fell into the enemy's hands. After eluding her 
enemy, and covering all her prizes, the one just mentioned excepted, 
the Alfred went into Boston, where she found the rest of the vesseJs, 
and where she landed her prisoners. Another officer took charge 
of the ship, and Captain Jones, who had been flattered with the hope 
of having a still larger force put under his orders, was placed so low 
on the list by the new regulation of navy rank, as to be ol)liged to 
look round for a single ship, and that, too, of a force inferior to the 
one he had just connnanded. 

While this service was in the course of execution at the north, 
several small cruisers had been sent into the West Indies, to convoy, 
in quest of arms, or to communicate with the difierent public agents 
in tliat quartei We have seen the manner in which the Lexington 
had bp( 11 captm-cd and retaken on her return passage from this 



1776.] NAVAL HISTORY. 61 

station, and we have now to allude to a short cruise of the Reprisal, 
Captain Wickes, in the same quarter. This ship sailed early in the 
summer, for Martinique, capturing several prizes by the way. 
When near her port, the English sloop of war Shark IG, Captain 
Chapman, laid her close alongside, and commenced a brisk attack, 
the Reprisal being both lighter than the enemy, and short-handed. 
Captain Wickes made so gallant a defence, however, that the Shark 
was repulsed with loss, and he got into the island with credit, hun- 
dreds having witnessed the afiair from the shore. As this occurred 
early in the season, and before the declaration of independence, tiie 
Shark followed the Reprisal in, and her captain demanded that the 
governor should deliver vxp the American ship as a pirate. This de- 
mand was refused of course, and shortly after Captain Wickes 
returned home. With a view to connect the train of events, we will 
now follow this excellent officer to the European seas. 

Tlie Reprisal was the first American man of war that ever showed 
herself in the other hemisphere. She sailed fi'om home not long 
after the Declaration of Independence, and appeared in France in 
the autumn of 1776, bringing in with her several prizes, and having 
Dr. Franklin on board as a passenger. A few privateers had pre- 
ceded her, and slight difficulties had occurred in relation to some of 
their prizes that had gone into Spain, but it is believed tliese were 
the first English captured ships that had entered France since the 
commencement of the American Revolution. The English ambas- 
sador complained of this infraction of the treaty between the two 
countries, but means were found to dispose of the prizes without de- 
tection. The Reprisal having refitted, soon sailed towards the Bay 
of Biscay, on another cruise. Here she captured several more ves- 
sels, and among the rest a king's packet that plied between Falmouth 
and Lisbon. When the cruise was up, Captain Wickes went into 
Nantes, taking his prize with him. The complaints of the English 
now became louder, and the American commissioners were secretly 
admonished of the necessity of using greater reserve. The prizes 
were directed to quit France, tliough the Reprisal, being leaky, was 
suffered to remain in port, in order to refit. The former were taken 
into the offing, and sold ; the state of the times rendering these in- 
formal proceedings necessary. Enormous losses to the captors were 
the consequences, while it is not improbable that the gains of the 
purchasers had their influence in blinding the local authorities to the 
character of the transaction. The business appears to have been 
managed with dexterity, and the proceeds of the sales, such as they 
were, proved of great service to the agents of government, by enabling 
them to purchase other vessels. 

In April, the Lexington 14, Captain Johnston, arrived in France, 
and the old difficulties were renewed. But the commissioners at 
Paris, who had been authorised to equip vessels, appoint officers, and 
do other matters to annoy the enemy, now planned a cruise that 
surpassed any thing of the sort that had yet been attempted in Eu- 
rope under tfie American flag. Captain Wickes was directed to 
proceed to sea, with his own vessel and the Lexington, and to go 



62 NAVAL HISTORY. [1776. 

directly off Ireland, in order to intercept a convoy of linen sliips that 
was expected to sail about that time. A cutter of ten guns, called 
the Dolphin, that had been detained by the commissioners to carry 
despatches to America, was diverted from her original destination 
and placed under the orders of Captain Wickes. The Dolphin was 
commanded by Lieutenant S. Nicholson, a brother of the senior 
captain, and a gentleman who subsequently died himself at the head 
of the service. 

Captain Wickes, in command of this light squadron, sailed from 
Nantes about the commencement of June, going first into the Bay 
of Biscay, and afterwards entirely around Ireland, sweeping tlie sea 
before him of every thing that was not of a force to render an attack 
hopeless. The linen ships were missed, but many vessels Avere 
taken or destroyed. As the American ci'uisers approached the 
French coast, on their return, a line of battle ship gave chase, and 
followed them nearly into port. The Lexington and Dolphin appear 
to have escaped without much difficulty, by separating, but the Re- 
prisal was so hard pressed, as to be obliged to saw her bulwarks, 
and even to cut away some of her timbers; expedients that were 
then much in favour among the seamen of the day, though of ques- 
tionable utility. 

This was the first exploit of the kind in the war, and its boldness 
and success seem to have produced so much sensation in England, 
that tlie French government was driven to the necessity of entirely 
throwing aside the mask, or of taking some more decided step in 
relation to these cruisers. Not being yet prepared for war, it resorted 
to the latter expedient. The Reprisal and Lexington were ordered 
to be seized and held, until security was given that they would quit 
the European seas, while tlie prizes were commanded to leave France 
without delay. The latter were accordingly taken outside the port, 
and disposed of to French merchants, in the same informal manner, 
and with the same loss, as in the previous cases, while the vessels of 
war prepared to return home. 

In September, the Lexington sailed from Morlaix, in which port 
she had taken refuge in the chase, and next day she fell in with the 
British man-of-war-cutter Alert, Lieutenant Bazely, a vessel of a 
force a trifle less than her own, when an engagement took place. 
The lightness of the vessels, and the roughness of the weather, ren- 
dered the fire on both sides, very ineffective, and after an action of 
two hours and a half, the Lexington had expended nearly all of her 
powder, without subduing her gallant opponent. The Alert, how- 
ever, had suffered so much aloft, as to enable the brig to leave her. 
Notwithstanding this advantage, so much activity was shown on 
board the English vessel, that, after a chase of four hours, she was 
enabled to get alongside of the Lexington again, while the latter was 
herself repairing damages. A one-sided battle now occurred, the 
Lexington not having it in her power to keep up a fire of any moment, 
and after receiving that of his persevering antagonist for another hour, 
Captain Johnston was compelled to strike, to save tRe lives of his 
crew. Thus closed the brief history of the gallant little cruiser that 



1777.] NAVAL HISTORY. 



is known to have first borne the regular American flag in a victory 
upon the ocean. Her career was short, but it was not without credit 
and usefiihiess. When taken, she had been in service about one year 
and eight months, in wliich time slie had been under three command- 
ers, Captains Barry, Hallock, and Johnston; had fought two severe 
battles with vessels of war ; was twice taken, and once recaptured, 
besides having several times engaged armed ships, and made many 
prizes. The English commander received a good deal of credit for 
the persevering gallantry with which he lay by, and captured his 
opponent. 

The fate of the Reprisal, a vessel that had even been more suc- 
cessful than her consort, was still harder. This ship also sailed for 
America, agreeably to the conditions made with the French govern- 
ment, and foundered on the banks of Newfoundland, all on board 
perishing with the exception of the cook. In Captain Wickes the 
country lost a gallant, prudent, and efficient officer, and one who 
promised to have risen high in his profession had his life been spared. 

To the untimely loss of the Reprisal, and the unfortunate capture 
of the Lexington, must be attributed the little eclat that attended the 
services of these two vessels in Europe. They not only preceded all 
the other national cruisers in the European seas, but they did great 
positive injury to the commerce of the enemy, besides exciting such 
a feeling of insecurity in the English merchants, as to derange their 
plans, and to produce other revolutions in the course of trade, that 
will be adverted to in the close of the chapter. 

In order to complete the account of the proceedings of the Amer- 
ican commissioners at Paris, so far as they were connected with na- 
val movements, during the years 1776 and 1777, it is necessary to 
come next to the affair of Captain Conyngham, which, owing to 
some marked circumstances, made more noise than the cruises of 
the Reprisal and Lexington, though the first exploits of the latter were 
anterior as to time, and of not less consequence in their effects. 

While the commissioners* were directing the movements of Cap- 
tain Wickes, in the manner that has been mentioned, they were not 
idle in other quarters. A small frigate was building at Nantes, on 
their account, and there will be occasion hereafter to speak of her 
services and loss, vmder the name of the Queen of France. Some 
time in the spring of 1777, an agent was sent to Dover by the Amer- 
ican commissioners where he purchased a fine fast-sailing English- 
built cutter, and had her carried across to Dunkirk. Here she was 
privately equipped as a cruiser, and named the Surprise. To the 
command of this vessel. Captain Gustavus Conyngham was ap- 
pointed, by filling up a blank commission from John Hancock, the 
President of Congress. This commission bore date March 1st, 
1777, and it would seem, as fully entitled Mr. Conyngham to the rank 
of a captain in the navy, as any other tb.at was ever issued by the 
same authority. Having obtained his officers and crew in Dunkii'k, 
Captain Conyngham sailed on a cruise, about the 1st of May, and on 
the 4th, he took a brig called the Joseph. On the 7th, when within 

" Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane. 



G4 NAVAL HISTORY. [1777. 

a few leagues of the coast of Holland, the Surprise ran along side of 
the Harwich packet the Prince of Orange, which she boarded and 
took with so little previous alarm, that Captain Conyngham on step- 
ing upon the deck of the prize, walked cooly down into her cabin, 
whei'e he found her master and his passengers at breakfast. The 
mail for the north of Europe being on board the Prince of Orange, 
Captain Conyngham believed his acquisition to be of sufficient im- 
portance to return to port, and accordingly he reappeared at Dun- 
kirk in a day or two. 

By referring to the dates, it will be seen, though both the Reprisal 
and the Lexington, especially the first, had cruised in the European 
seas prior to the sailing of the Surprise, that the latter vessel per- 
formed the exploit just mentioned, shortly before Captain "Wickes 
sailed on his cruise in the Irish and English Channels. Coming as 
it did so soon after the capture of the Lisbon packet, and occurring 
on one of the great thoroughfares between England and the conti- 
nent, coupled with the fact that the cutter had been altogether 
equipped in a French port, the loss of the Prince of Orange appears 
to have attracted more attention than the transactions before des- 
cribed. Tlie remonstrances of the English ambassador were so earn- 
est, that Captain Conyngham and his crew were imprisoned, the cut- 
ter was seized, and the prizes were liberated. On this occasion the 
commission of Captain Conyngham was taken from him, and sent 
to Versailles, and it seems never to have been returned. 

So completely was the English government deceived by this de- 
monstration of an intention on tlie part of the French ministry to 
cause the treaty to be respected, that two sloops of war were actually 
sent to Dunkirk to carry Captain Conyngham and his people to 
England, that they might be tried as pirates. When the ships 
reached Dunkirk, as will be seen in the succeeding events, the birds 
had flown. 

The commissioners had the capture of some of the transports 
with Hessian troops on board in view, and they were no sooner no- 
tified of the seizure of the Surprise, than Mr. Hodge, an agent who 
was of great service to the cause, was directed to procure .'mother 
cutter. One was accordingly purchased at Dunkirk, and was fitted,- 
with all despatch, for a cruiser. Means were found to liberate Cap- 
tain Conyngham and his people, and this second vessel, wliich was 
called the Revenge, sailed from Dunkirk on the 18th of July, or 
about tiie time that Captain AVickes returned from his cruise with 
the three other vessels. A new commission had been obtained for 
Captain Conyngham, previously to putting to sea, which bore date 
May 2d, 1777. As this second commission was dated anterior to 
the seizure of the old one, there is no question that it was also one 
of those in blank, which had been confided to the commissioners to 
fill at their discretion. 

The Revenge proved exceedingly successful, making prizes daily 
and generally destroying them. Some of the most valuable, how- 
ever, were ordered into Spain, where many arrived ; their avails 
proving of great moment to the agents of the American government 



1777.] NAVAL HISTORY. 65 

in Europe. It is even affirmed that the money advanced to Mr. Ad- 
ams for travelling expenses, when he landed in Spain from the 
French frigate La Sensible, a year or two later, was derived from 
this source. 

Having suffered from a gale, Captain Conyngham disguised the 
Revenge, and took her into one of the small English ports, where 
he actually refitted without detection. Shortly after, he obtained 
supplies in Ireland, paying for them by bills on his agents in Spain. 
In short, after a cruise of almost unprecedented success, so far as 
injury to the English merchants was concerned, the Revenge went 
into Ferrol, refitted, and finally sailed for the American seas, where 
it would derange the order of events to follow her at this moment. 

The characters of the Surprise and Revenge appear never to have 
been properly understood. In all the accounts of the day, and in near- 
ly, if not in quite all the subsequent histories, these vessels are spoken 
of as privateers, authoiised to act by the commissioners at Paris. It is 
not clear that the commissioners sent private armed vessels to sea at 
all, though the act may have come within the scope of their powers. 
That the two cutters commanded by Captain Conyngham were pub- 
lic vessels, however, is proved in a variety of ways. Like the Dol- 
phin 10, Lieutenant Nicholson, an officer who may be said to have 
almost passed his life in the navy, the Surprise and Revenge were 
bought and equipped by agents of the diplomatic commissioners of 
the United States, on public account, and the commissions granted 
to Captain Conyngham were gifts of personal authority, and not 
powers conceded to particular vessels. It is known that Dr. Frank- 
lin, at a later day, and v/ith an especial object in view, granted tem- 
porary commissions in the navy, but there is no evidence that either 
of those bestowed on Captain Conyngham possessed even this con- 
ditional character. The Revenge was finally given up to the Navy 
Board, in Philadelphia, and was sold on public account. It is cer- 
tainly competent for a government to consider its public vessels as it 
may see fit, or to put them in the several classes of vessels of war, 
revenue cruisers, packets, troop ships, transports, or any thing else, 
but it would, at least, be a novelty for it to deem any of its own active 
cruisers privateers. The very word v/ould infer a contradiction in 
terms. Paul Jones speaks of his desire to obtain Captain Conyng- 
ham as a member of a court martial, as late as 1779, andnn a re- 
monstrance against the treatment shown to Captain Conyngham, 
then a prisoner of war, made by Congress, through its Secretary, 
Charles Thompson, of the date of July 1779, that officer is teniied, 
" Gustavus Conyngham, a citizen of America, late commander of an 
armed vessel in the service of said States, and taken on board a pri- 
vate armed cutter," &c. &c. Here the distinction between public 
and private armed vessels is unequivocally made, and the fact that 
Captain Conyngham had served in both, is as clearly established ; 
it being admitted that he was acting in a privateer at the precise mo- 
ment of his capture. The latter circumstance, in no degree affected 
the rank of Captain Conyngham, officers of the navy quite fre- 
quently serving in private armed ships, after the first two or three 
VOL. I. 5 



66 NAVAL HISTORY. [1777. 

years of the war, in consequence of there not having been public 
vessels to afford them employment. That there was some irregu- 
larity in giving Captain Conyngham two commissions for the same 
rank, and bearing diflerent dates, is true, but this arose from neces- 
sity ; and want of regularity and system was a fault of the times, 
rather than of those who conducted the affairs of the American ma- 
rine, during the Revolution. There can be no reasonable doubt 
that both the Surprise and the Revenge were public vessels of war, 
and that Gustavus Conyngham was a captain in the navy of the 
United States of America, in virtue of two commissions granted by 
a competent authority ; and that, too, subsequently to the Declara- 
tion of Independence, or after the country claimed all the political 
rights of sovereign power. 

The sensation produced among the British merchants, by the dif- 
ferent cruises in the European seas, that have been recorded in this 
chapter, is stated in the diplomatic correspondence of the day, to 
have been greater than that produced, in the previous war, by the 
squadron of the celebrated Thurot. Insurance rose to an enormous 
height, and, in speaking of the cruise of Captain AVickes in partic- 
ular, Mr. Deane observes in one of his letters to Robert Morris, that 
it " eflectually alarmed England, prevented the great fair at Chester, 
occasioned insurance to rise, and even deterred the English mer- 
chants from shipping goods in English bottoms, at any rate, so that 
in a few weeks, fort?/ sail of French ships were loading in the 
Thames on freight ; an instance never before known." In the 
same letter, this commissioner adds, — " In a word, Cunningham 
(Conyngham) by his first and second bold expeditions, is become the 
terror of all the eastern coast of England and Scotland, and is more 
dreaded than Thurot was, in the late war." 

Insurance, in some instances, rose as high as twenty-five per 
cent., and it is even affirmed that there was a short period when ten 
per cent, was asked between Dover and Calais, a distance of only 
seven leagues. 

Having now related the principal maritime events that were con- 
nected with the policy and measures of the commissioners in France, 
during the years 1776 and 1777, we shall return to the American 
seas, and resume the thread of the narrative, where it has been in- 
terrupted, or towards the middle of the former year. We shall 
shortly have occasion, however, to revert to the subject that we are 
now temporarily quitting, this quarter of the world having been the 
theatre of still more interesting incidents connected with the navy, at 
a later day. Before returning to the year 1776, and the more chro- 
nological order of events, however, one fact may well be recorded 
here. With a view to increase the naval force of the countrj^ the 
commissioners had caused a fi'igate of extraordinary size, and of 
pecvdiar armament and construction for that period, to be laid doAvn 
at Amsterdam. This ship had the keel and sides of a two decker, 
though frigate built, and her main deck armament was intended to 
consist of thirty-two pounders. Her name was the Indien. But in 
consequence of the api)rehensions of the Dutch government, and the 



1776.] NAVAL HISTORY. 67 



jealousy of that of England, Congress was induced, about this time, 
to make an offering of the Indian to Louis XVI., and she was equip- 
ped and got ready for sea, as a French vessel of war. In the end, 
the manner in which this fris'ate was brouoht into the service of one 
of tiie new American States, and her fate, will be shown. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Commodore Sir Peter Parker attacks Charleston — Is repulsed by the Americans— Capt. 
Muglbrd captures the Hope — The Sacbem, Capt. Robinson, captures an English let- 
ter of marque — Capt. R. put in command of the Doria — Captures the Racehorse, after 
a sharp contest — Conflict of American galleys with the enemy — Capt. Hudson of the 
Ranger captures a British brig, after an action of two hours — Battle on Lake Chani- 
plaia — General Arnold — American privateers. 

It is now necessary to revert to events that will require the time 
to be carried back more than a twelvemonth. In reviewing this 
branch of the subject, it may be well to take a brief notice of the state 
of the regular marine of the country, in the spring of the year 1776, 
or soon after the law for capturing all British vessels had passed, and 
at a moment when the independence of the country was serious.y 
contemplated, though not formally declared. 

None of these vessels ordered to be built, by the laws of the previ- 
ous year, were yet launched, and every public cruiser of any size 
that was actually afloat had been bought into the service. Of these, 
the largest were little suited to war, as they were necessarily selected 
from among the merchant vessels of the country, while the smaller 
had been chosen principally from among the privateers. Copper, 
for ships, was just coming into use, and it is not believed that a single 
cruiser of the United States possessed the great advantage of having 
this material on its bottom until a much later day. 

Philadelphia being the seat of government, the largest town in 
the country, and naturally strong in its defences, more than usual 
attention was paid to the means of preventing the enemy from getting 
possession of it by water. Thirteen galleys had been provided for 
this purpose, as well as a heavy floating battery, and several fire 
rafts. An officer of the name of Hazlewood was put in command, 
with the title of commodore, his commission having been issued by 
the Colony of Pennsylvania. Similar arrangements were made in 
the Chesapeake, where a gentleman of the name of Barron, the 
father of two officers who have subsequently risen to high rank in 
the service, received the same commission from the Colony of Vir- 
ginia. James Nicholson, who so shortly after became tlie senior 
captain of the navy, lilled a corresponding station in the Colony of 
Maryland, and performed some service that did him credit. 

Most of the colonies had their respective cruisers at sea, or on 
their own coasts, while the ocean literally began to swarm with pri 



68 NAVAL HISTORY. [1776. 

vatecrs from all parts of the country ; though New England took 
the lead in this species of warfare. Robert Morris, in one of his 
official letters of a date later than this precise time, remarks that the 
passion for privateering was so strong in this particular part of the. 
country, that even agriculture was abandoned in order to pursue it. 

The English evacuated Boston on the 17th of March of this year, 
retiring to Halifax with their fleet and army. From this place, they 
directed their movements for a short period, or until they were en- 
abled, by the arrival of powerful reinforcements, to choose the points 
which it was believed would be the most advantageous to possess for 
the future management of the war. Charleston, South Carolina, 
was soon selected for this purpose, and preparations for a descent 
on that coast were made as early as April, or immediately after the 
the evacuation of Boston. It is not improbable that this step was 
held in view, when the British quitted New England, as the occupa- 
tion of that town would enable the English government to overrun all 
the southern colonies. Luckily, some despatches, that were inter- 
cepted by Commodore Barron, of the Virginia service, betrayed this 
design to the people of Charleston, who were not slow in making 
their preparations to meet the enemy. 

In furtherance of this plan, which is even said to have emanated 
from the British ministry itself, though some ascribe the attack that 
occurred to the officers immediately in command, the main object 
being a secure footing in the southern States at any eligible point 
that might offer, a squadron consisting of several sail, under the 
orders of Commodore Sir Peter Parker, arrived on the coast of 
North Carolina as early as May. Here it was joined by a fleet of 
transports from Halifax, having on board nearly three thousand 
troops, at the head of whom was Lieutenant General, afterwards Sir 
Henry, Clinton. 

On the 4th of June this imposing force appeared oft' Charleston 
Bar, and made immediate preparations for a descent and an attack 
by sea ; buoying out the channel for the latter purpose without delay. 
A portion of the troops were landed on Long Island, which is sepa- 
rated from Sullivan's Island by a narrow channel that is fordablc in 
certain states of the tide, with a view to pass over and take a strong 
work, made of palmetto logs, that the Americans had erected for the 
defence of their harbour, and which it was thought might easily be 
reduced from the rear. Happily for the Americans, a long continu- 
ance of easterly winds drove the water up into the passage between 
the two islands, converting the cliannel into a ditch, that efTectually 
prevented the forces of General Clinton from ci"ossing. On the 7t]i, 
the frigates passed the bar; and on tlie 10th, a fifty gun ship suc- 
ceeded witli great difficulty, in accomplishing the same object. The 
delay occasioned by the want of water, and the indecision of the Eng- 
lish general, Avho acted with less vigour than his associate in com- 
mand, was eagerly improved by the Americans, and a considerable 
force collected in and about the town, though the fort on Sullivan's 
Island, wliich was subsequently named after its gallant commander, 
Colonel Moultrie, did not admit of much enlargement or additional 



1776.] NAVAL HISTORY. 69 

fortifying. This work contained twenty-six guns, twenty-six and 
eighteen pounders, and it was garrisoned by about four hundred 
men, of whom more than three hundred were regulars. Other 
troops were at hand to watch the party on Long Island, and to resist 
any attempt to land. Major General Lee, of the United States' ser- 
vice commanded in chief, on the side of the Americans. Suitable 
preparations were made to save the garrison, in the event of a de- 
scent, though it appeai-s to have been the opinion of Colonel Moul- 
trie, that he could have maintained the island even had the enemy 
crossed and landed. 

On the 28th of June, Sir Peter Parker, being joined by another 
fifty, and having completed his preparations, moved his ships to their 
respective stations, in order to commence the attack. Between ten 
and eleven in the forenoon, the Thunder began to throw shells at the 
fort, to cover the approach of the other vessels, though without much 
efl'ect. The shells were well directed, and many fell in the centre 
of the fort ; but they were received in a morass, wliere the fuses were 
extinguished. But few exploded. The Bristol 50, Sir Peter Par- 
ker's own ship, the Experiment 50, which had joined but a day or 
two before, both vessels of two decks, the Active 28, and the Solebay 
28, anchored in front of the fort, with springs on their cables ; while 
the Acteon 28, Siren 28, and Sphinx 20, endeavored to get into 
positions between the island and the town, with a view to enfdade 
the works, to cut off the communications with the main body of the 
American forces, and to intercept a retreat. The latter vessels got 
entangled among the shoals, and all three took the ground. In the 
confusion, the Sphinx and Siren ran foul of each other, by which ac- 
cident the former lost her bowsprit. The Acteon stuck so fast, that 
all the efforts of her crew to get her afloat proved unavailing ; but 
the other two succeeded in getting off in a few hours. In conse- 
quence of these mistakes and accidents, the three vessels named 
were of little or no use to the British during the engagement. 

Of the vessels that came up in front, the Active 28, led. As she 
drew near, the fort fired a few guns, as if to try the range of its shot, 
but the battle did not properly begin until the frigate had anchored 
and delivered her broadside. The other vessels followed, when they 
all commenced as severe and well supported a fire, as Avas probably 
ever kept up for so long a period, by ships of their force. 

The cannonade began in earnest about twelve o'clock, and it was 
maintained throughout a long summer's afternoon, and, with short 
intervals, until nine o'clock at night, with undaunted resolution, on 
both sides. The fire of the ships was rapid : tliat of the fort delibe- 
rate, but of deadly aim. Tlie first, owing to the peculiar nature of 
the wood of which the works were composed, did l)ut little injury, 
A'hile the heavy shot sent from the fort, passed through and through 
the sides of the enemy's ships. At one period, the garrison had 
nearly expended its ammunition, and its fire ceased for so long a 
time, that it became the impression of the enemy that it had evacu- 



70 NAVAL HISTORY. [1776. 

ted tlie works.* A fresli supply arriving, however, this error of the 
EngUsh was soon corrected, the fire that was renewed being, if pos- 
sible, more destructive than that which had preceded the pause. In 
the heat of the engagement the springs of the Bristol's cable were 
cut, and the ship swung round, with her stern to the embrasures. 
That deadly deliberate fire, which had distinguished the garrison 
throughout the day, now told with awful effect on this devoted vessel. 
In this scene of slaughter and destruction, the old seaman who 
commanded the British sqviadron, displayed the high resolution 
which, during the last century, has distinguished so many other of- 
ficers of his name in the same service. At one time, he is said to 
have stood almost alone on the quarter-deck of his ship, bleeding, 
but delivering his orders calmly and with discretion. By the appli- 
cation of a new s)>ring, the vessel was extricated from this awful 
position, and her firing was renewed. 

But no courage or perseverance on the paitof the assailants could 
overcome the cool resolution of the garrison, and when night set in, 
Sir Peter Parker made the signal for the ships to retire. All tlie 
vessels efifected their retreat but the Acteon, which ship remained 
too firmly grounded to be moved. From this frigate the enemy 
withdrew her people next morning, when they set her on fire, leaving 
her with her guns loaded and colours flying. She was immediately 
boarded by the Americans, who hauled doAvn her ensign, fired a few 
shot at the retreating ships, and left her. In a short time her maga- 
zine exploded. 

This was the most hotly contested engagement of the kind that 
ever took place on the American coast, and it goes fully to prove the 
important military position, that ships cannot withstand forts when 
the latter are properly constructed, armed, and garrisoned. Gen- 
eral Moultrie, in his Memoirs, states that he commenced the battle 
with only twenty-eight rounds of powder. The supplies received 
during the fight amounted to but seven hundred pounds in gross, 
which, for guns of so heavy caliber, would scarcely make a total of 
thirty-five rounds. He is of opinion that the want of powder alone 
prevented the Americans from destroying the men of war. 

On this occasion the Americans had only thirty-six killed and 
wounded, while the loss of the British was about two hundred men. 
The two fifty gun ships suffered most, the Bristol having the com- 
modore himself. Captain Morris, who died of his injuries, and sixty- 
nine men wounded, besides foity killed. Among the former was 
Lord William Campbell, a brother of the Duke of Argyle, who had 

* Some cnrions errors appear in Sir Peter Parker's report of this affair, arising out of 
the distance at whidi he was placed, and the confnsion of a hot contlict. Among other 
things he saj's that large j)artles -were driven out of the fort by the fire of the shii)S, and 
that they \vere replaced by reinforcements from the main land. He also says ihat a 
man 'A'as hanged on a tree, in the roar of the fort, by a party that was entering it. Noth- 
ing of the sort occurred. Colonel Moallrio explains the affair of ihe man in the tree, by 
sa.yinc: that a shot took a soldier's coat and carried it into the branches of a tree, where 
it remained suspended daring the rest of the day. So far from any confnsion or disorder 
having existed in the fort, when General Lee visited the works, during the height of the 
action, the officers laid aside their pipes in order to receive him with proper respect. 
After the affair, twelve hundred shot were picked up in and about the fort, besidesznany 
shells. 



1776.] NAVAL HISTORY. 71 

recently been Governor of South Carolina, in which province he had 
married, and who had taken a command on the Bristol's lower oun 
deck, with a view to animate her men. The Experiment suffered little 
less than the Bristol, several of her ports having been knocked into 
one, and seventy-nine of her officers and crew were killed and 
wounded. Among the latter was her commander. Captain Scott. 
The frigates, attracting less of the attention of the garrison esca])ed 
with comparatively little loss. A short time after this signal discom- 
fiture, the British temporarily abandoned their design on Charleston, 
carrying olF the troops, whicii had been perfectly useless during the 
operations. 

Quitting the south for the present, we will now return to the north, 
to mention a few of the lighter incidents that occurred at different 
points on the coast. Soon after the British left Boston, a Captain 
Mugford obtained the use of a small armed vessel belonging to gov- 
ernment, called the Franklin, and getting to sea, he succeeded in 
capturing the Hope, a ship that had on board fifteen hundred barrels 
of powder, and a large quantity of intrenching tools, gun carriages, 
and other stores. This vessel was got into Boston, in sight of the 
British squadron. Attempting another cruise immediately after- 
wards. Captain Mugford lost his life in making a gallant and suc- 
cessful effort to repel some of the enemy's boats, which had endeav- 
oured to carry the Franklin and a small privateer that was in com- 
pany, by boarding. 

On the 6th of July, or two days after the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, the Sachem 10, Captain Robinson, sailed from the 
Delaware on a cruise. The Sachem was sloop rigged, and one of 
the lightest cruisers in the service. When a few days out she fell in 
with an English letter of marque, a Jamaica-man, and captured her, 
after a sharp contest. Both vessels are said to have suffered severely 
in this affair, and to have had an unusual nuraber of their people 
killed and wounded. Captain Robinson was now compelled to 
return to refit, and arriving at Philadelphia with the prize, the Marine 
Committee rewarded him for his success by giving him the command 
of the Andrea Doria 14, then recently returned from her cruise to the 
eastward under Captain Biddle, which officer had been transferred 
to the Randolph 32. 

The Doria sailed shortly after for St. Eustatia, to bring home some 
arms ; and it is said that the first salute ever paid to the American 
flag, by a regular government, was fired in return for the salute of 
the Doria, when she went into that island. For this indiscretion the 
Dutch governor was subsequently displaced. 

On her return passage, off the western end of Porto Rico, the 
Doria made an English vessel of war, bearing down upon her with 
a disposition to engage. On ranging up abeam, the enemy com- 
menced the action by firing a broadside, which was immediately 
returned by the Doria. A very sharp contest of two hours followed, 
when the Englishman struck. The prize proved to be the Race- 
horse 1:2, Lieutenant Jones, who had been sent by his admiral to 
cruise expi-essly for his captors. Lieutenant Jones was mortally 



72 NAVAL HISTORY. [1776. 

wounded, and a very large proportion of the Racehorse's officers 
and ci"ew were either kilJed or wounded. Tlie Doria lost twelve 
men, including- all the casualties. Captain Rohinson and his prize 
got safely into Philadelphia, in due season. The Doria never went 
to sea again, being shortly after burned by the Americans to prevent 
her falling into the hands of the British fleet, when the evacuation 
of Fort Mifflin gave the enemy the command of the Delaware. 

The galleys in the Delaware had a long and well contested strug- 
gle with the Roebuck 44, Captain Hammond, and the Liverpool 20, 
Captain BelleAV, about the first of May of this year. The cannon- 
ade was handsomely conducted, and it resulted in driving the enemy 
from the river. During this affair the Wasp 8, Captain Alexander, 
was active and conspicuous, cutting out a tender of the English ships 
from under their guns. 

A spirited attack was aleo made on the Phoenix 44, and Rose 24, 
in the Hudson, on the third of August, by six American galleys. 
The firing was heavy and well maintained for two hours, both sides 
suffering materially. On the part of the galleys, eighteen men were 
killed and wounded, and several guns were dismounted by shot. 
The loss of the enemy is not known, though both vessels were 
repeatedly hulled. 

But by this time the Avhole coast was alive with adventures of such 
a nature, scarcely a week passing that did not give rise to some inci- 
dent that would have interest for the reader, did the limits of our work 
permit us to enter into the details. Wherever an enemy's cruiser 
appeared, or attempted to land, skirmishes ensued ; and in some of 
these little affairs as much personal gallantry and ingenuity were 
displayed as in many of the more important combats. The coast 
of New England generally, the Chesapeake, and the coast of the 
Carolinas, were the scenes of most of these minor exploits, Avhich, 
like all the subordinate incidents of a great struggle, are gradually 
becoming lost in the more engrossing events of the war. 

October 12th, of this year, an armed British brig, the name of 
which has been lost, fitted out by the government of the Island of 
Jamaica, made an attempt on a small convoy of American vessels, 
off Cape Nicola Mole, in the West Indies, then in charge of the 
privateer Ranger 18, Captain Hudson. Perceiving the aim of the 
enemy. Captain Hudson ran under hox stern, and gave her a severe 
raking fire. The action thus commenced, lasted nearly two hours, 
when the Ranger boarded, and carried the brig, hand to hand. The 
English vessel, in this affair, reported thirteen men killed and 
woimded, by the raking broadside of the Ranger alone. In the 
whole, she had between thirty and forty of her people injured. On 
her return from this cruise, the Ranger was purchased for the navy. 

While these events were occurring on the ocean, naval armaments, 
and naval battles, took place on those lakes, that witnessed the evo- 
lutions of squadrons of force in the subsequent war between the two 
countries. 

In order to command the Tjakes Champlain and Ceorge, across 
which lay the ancient and direct communication witli the Canadas, 



1776.] NAVAL HISTORY. 73 

flotillas had been constructed on both these waters, by the Ameri- 
cans. To resist this force, and with a view to co-operate with the 
movements of their troops, the British commenced tlie construction 
of vessels at St. Johns. Several men-of-war were laid up, in the St. 
Lawrence, and their officers and crews were transferred to the ship- 
pinij- built on Lake Champlain. 

The American force, in the month of August, appears to have 
consisted of the following vessels, viz: 

Schooner, Royal Savage, 12, Wynkoop. 



Do. 


Enterprise, 


12, 


Dixon. 


Do. 


Revenge, 


10, 


Laman. 


Do. 


Liberty, 


10, 


Plumer. 


Gondola, 




3, 


Simmons. 


Do. 




3, 


Mansfield. 


Do. 




3, 


Sumner. 


Do. 




3, 


listens. 



To this force were added several more gondolas, and a few row 
galleys. These vessels were hastily equipped, and in most of the 
instances, it is believed, that they were commanded by officers in the 
army. Their crews were principally soldiers. At a later day, the 
American force was materially changed, new names were given and 
new vessels substituted, but so much confusion exists in the accounts 
as to render any formal attempt at accuracy ia enumerating the craft, 
difficult, if not impossible. 

On the other hand, the British constructed a force that enabled 
them to take the lake in October, with the following vessels, viz : 

Ship, Inflexible, 16, Lieutenant Schank. 

Schooner, Maria, 14, " Starke. 

Do. Carleton, 12, " Dacres. 

Radcau, Thunderer, 14, " Scott. 

Gondola, Royal Convert, 6, " Lancroft. 

To these were added twenty gun-boats, four long-boats, each 
armed with a gun, and twenty-four other craft, loaded with stores 
and provisions. The metal of this flotilla was much superior to that 
of the American force, the Inflexible carrying twelve pounders, the 
schooners sixes, the radeau twenty-fours and twelves, and the gun- 
boats, pieces that varied from eighteens down to nines. The British 
accounts admit that 796 officers and men were drafted from the Isis, 
Blonde, Triton, Garland, «fcc., in order to man these vessels, and 
artillerists and other troops were also put on board to aid in fighting 
them. 

October 11th, General Arnold, who commanded the American 
flotilla, was lying off Cumberland Head, when at eight in the morn- 
ing, the enemy appeared in force, to the northward, turning to wind- 
ward with a view to engage. On that day the American vessels 
present consisted of the Royal Savage, 12, Revenge, 10, Liberty, 
10, Lee, cutter, 4, Congress, galley, 10, Washington, do., 10, Trum- 
bull, do., 10, and eight gondolas. Besides the changes that had been 
made since August, two or three of the vessels that were on the lake 



74 NAVAL HISTORY. [1776 

were absent on their duty. The best accounts state the force of this 
flotilla, or of the vessels present, as follows, viz : 
Guns, 90. 
Metal, 647 lbs. 
Men, GOO, including soldiers. 

On this occasion, the British brought up nearly their whole force, 
as it has been already stated, although having the disadvantage of 
being to leeward, all their vessels could not get into close action. 
Captain Douglas, of the Isis, had commanded the naval movements 
that preceded the battles, and Lieutenant General Sir Guy Carleton, 
was present, in person, on board the Maria. The first officer, in 
his official report of the events, mentions that the Inflexible was 
ready to sail, within twenty-eight days after her keel had been laid, 
and that he had caused to be equipped, between July and October, 
" thirty fighting vessels of diffi?rent sorts and sizes, and all carrying 
cannon " Captain Pringle, of the Lord Howe, was the officer 
actually in charge, however, of the British naval force on the lake, 
and he commanded in person in the different encounters. 

The action of the lltli of October commenced at eleven, in the 
forenoon, and by half-past twelve it was warm. On the part of the 
British, the battle for a long time was principally carried on by the 
gun boats, which were enabled to sweep up to windward, and which, 
by their weight of metal, were very efficient in smooth water. The 
Carleton, 12, Lieutenant Dacres, Avas much distinguished in this day, 
being the only vessel of size, that could sret into close fight. After 
maintaining a hot fire for several hours, Captain Pringle judiciously 
called off the vessels that were engaged, anchoring just out of gun- 
shot, with an intention to renew the attack in the morning. Li this 
affair the Americans, who had discovered great steadiness through- 
out the day, had about 60 killed and wounded, while the British 
acknowledged a loss of only 40. The Carleton, however, suffered 
considerably. 

Satisfied that it would be impossible, successfully, to resist so great 
a superiority of force. General Arnold got under way, at 2 P. M., on 
the 12th, with the wind fresh ahead. The enemy made sail in chase, 
as soon as his departure was discovered, but neither flotilla could 
make much progress on account of the gondolas, which were unable 
to turn to windward. In the evening the wind moderated, when the 
Americans gained materially on their pursuers. Another change 
occurred, however, and a singular variation in the currents of air, 
now favoured the enemy ; for while the Americans, in the narrow 
part of the lake, were contending with a fresh southerly breeze, the 
English got the wind at northeast, which brought their leading ves- 
sels within gun-shot at 12, meridian, on the 13th. 

On this occasion Captain Pringle, in the Maria, led in person, 
closely supported by the Inflexible and Carleton. The Americans 
were much scattered, several of the gondolas having been sunk and 
abandoned, on account of the impossibility of bringing them off. 
General Arnold, in the Congress galley, covered the rear of his 
retreating flotilla, having the Washington galley, on board of which 



1776.] NAVAL HISTORY. 75 

was Brigadier General Waterbury, in company. The latter had 
been much shattered in the fight, of the lllh, and after receiving a 
few broadsides, she was compelled to strike. General Arnold, now 
defended himself like a lion, in the Congress, occupying the three 
vessels of the enemy so long a time, as to enable six of his little fleet 
to escape. When further resistance was out of the question, he ran 
the Congress on shore, set fire to her, and she blew up with her col- 
ours flying. 

Although the result of this action was so disastrous, the American 
arms gained much credit, by the obstinacy of the resistance. Gen- 
eral Arnold, in pai'ticular, covered himself with glory, and his ex- 
ample appears to have been nobly followed by most of his oflicers 
and men. Even the enemy did justice to the resolution and skill 
with which the American flotilla was managed, the disparity in the 
force rendering victory out of the question from the first. The man- 
ner in which the Congress was fought until she had covered the re- 
treat of the galleys, and the stubborn resolution with which she was 
defended until destroyed, converted the disasters of tliis part of the 
day, into a species of triunq)h. 

In these affairs, the Americans lost eleven vessels, principally gon- 
dolas, while on the part of the British, two gondolas were sunk, and 
one blown up. The loss of men was supposed to be about ecpial, no 
less than sixty of the enemy perishing in the gondola that blew up. 
This statement differs from the published official accounts of the 
English, but those reports, besides being meagre and general, are 
contradicted by too much testimony on the other side, to command 
our respect. 

There has been occasion, already, to mention Mr. John Manly, 
who, in command of the schooner Lee, made the first captures that 
occurred in the war. The activity and resolution of this officer, 
rendered his name conspicuous at the commencement of the strug- 
gle, and it followed as a natural consequence, that, when Congress 
regulated the rank of the captains, in 1776, he appears as one of 
them, his appointment having been made as early as April the 17th, 
of this year. So highly, indeed, were his services then ajipreciated, 
that the name of Captain Manly stands second on the list, and he 
was appointed to the command of the Hancock 32. When Captain 
Manly was taken into the navy, the Lee was given to Captain 
Waters, and was present at the capture of the three transports off 
Boston, as has been already stated. This little schooner, the name 
of which will ever remain associated with American history, in con- 
sequence of her all important captures in 1775, appears to have con- 
tinued actively employed, as an in-shore cruiser, throughout this 
year, if not later, in the pay of the new state of Massachusetts. 
Captain Waters, like his predecessor, Captain Manly, was received 
into the navy, on the recommendation of'Washington, a commission 
to that effect having been granted by Congress, March 18th, 1777. 

Much enterprise and gallantry were exhibited in the encounters 
between the American ])rivateers and heavily armed merchant-ships 
of the enemy, at this period, and England appears to have been so 



76 NAVAL HISTORY. [1776. 



completely taken by surprise, that they were of almost daily occur- 
rence. The different colonies, also, fitted out more cruisers, princi- 
pally vessels purchased for that purpose, and some of them were 
commanded by officers who also bore commissions in the service of 
Congress, or of the United States of America, as the confederation 
was called after the Declaration of Independence. South Carolina, 
on the 16th February, 1776, had three of these vessels ; a ship of 26 
nine pounders ; a brig of 18 sixes ; and a schooner of 12 sixes. One 
of these cruisers drove a sloop of war from her convoy, and captured 
four transports loaded with stores. Massachusetts was never without 
several cruisers, and Pennsylvania, from time to time, had more or 
less. Virginia had her little marine, too, as has been already men- 
tioned, though its attention was principally directed to the defence 
of her numerous rivers and bays. 

Some of the English accounts of this period state that near a 
hundred privateers had been fitted out of New England alone, in the 
two first years of the war, and the number of seamen in the service 
of the crown, employed against the new States of America, was com- 
puted at 26,000. 

Tlie colonies obtained many important supplies, colonial as well 
as military, and even manufactured articles of ordinary use, by means 
of their captures ; scarce a day passing that vessels of greater or 
less value did not arrive in some one of the ports of their extensive 
coast. By a list published in the Remembrancer, an English work 
of credit, it appears that 342 sail of English vessels had been taken 
by American cruisers in 1776 ; of which number 44 were recaptured, 
18 released, and 4 burned. 

On the other hand, the Americans met with their disasters ; many 
privateers being taken, principally by the fast-sailing frigates of the 
enemy, while valuable merchantmen fell into their hands, from time 
to time. In short, in a commercial sense, the war became very 
destructive to both parties, though it was best supported by the colo- 
nists, the rise in colonial produce, in a measure, compensating them 
for their losses. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Successful cruise of the Randolf>li Britisli account of tlie action, in which she blew up 

Loss of the Cabot... The Tiumlmll captures two English transports The Han- 
cock, Capt. Manly, captures the Fox, which is afterwards recaptured ofV Halifax 

Capt. M. surrendershis ship to the British Capt. McNiel censured and dismissed the 

service Vessels destroyed in the Delaware by the English The Augusta blown 

up Cruise of the Haleigh, and her action with the Druid. 

The year 1777 opened with new prospects for the American 
cause. The hardy movements of Washington in New Jersey had 
restored the drooping confidence of the nation, and great efibrts were 



1776.] NAVAL HISTORY. 77 

made to follow up the advantage that had been so gloriously ob- 
tained. Most of the vessels authorised by the laws of 1775, had 
been built and equipped during the year 1776, and America may 
now be said, for the first time, to have something like a regular navy, 
although the service was still, and indeed continued to be throughout 
the war, deficient in organisation, system, and unity. After the first 
effort, connected with its creation, the business of repairing losses, 
of increasing the force, and of perfecting that Avhich had been so 
hastily commenced, however, was either totally neglected, or carried 
on in a manner so desultory and inefficient, as soon to leave very 
little of method or order in the marine. As a consequence, officers 
were constantly compelled to seek employment in private armed 
ships, or to remain idle, and the discipline did not advance, as would 
otherwise have been the case during the heat of an active war. To 
the necessities of the nation, however, and not to its foresight and 
prudence, must be atti-ibuted this state of things, the means of rais- 
ing and maintaining troops being obtained with difficulty, and the 
cost of many ships entirely exceeding its resources. It is probable 
that had not the public armed vessels been found useful in conveying, 
as well as in convoying the produce, by means of which the loans 
obtained in Europe were met, and perhaps indispensable in keeping 
up the diplomatic communications with that quarter of the world, 
the navy would have been suftercd to become extinct, beyond its 
employment in the bays and rivers of the country. This, however, 
is anticipating events, for at the precise moment in the incidents of 
the war at which we have now arrived, the exertions of the republic 
were perhaps at their height, as respects its naval armaments. 

One of the first, if not the very first of the new vessels that got to 
sea, was the Randolph 3iJ. It has been seen that Captain Biddle 
was appointed to this ship, on his return from his successful cruise in 
the Andrea Doria 14. The Randolph was launched at Philadelphia 
in the course of the season of 1776, and sailed on her first cruise 
early in 1777. Discovering a defect in her masts, as well as a dis- 
position to mutiny in his people, too many of whom Avere volunteers 
from among the prisoners, Captain Biddle put into Charleston for 
repairs. As soon as the ship was refitted, he sailed again, and three 
days out, he fell in with and captured four Jamaica-men, one of 
which, the True Briton, had an armament of 20 guns. The Ran- 
dolpli returned to Charleston, with her prizes, in safety. Here she 
appears to have been blockaded, by a superior English force, during 
the remainder of the season. The state authorities of South Caro- 
lina were so much pleased with the zeal and deportment of Captain 
Biddle, and so much elated with their own success against Sir Peter 
Parker, that they now added four small vessels of war of their own, 
the General INloultrie 18, the Polly 16, the Notre Dame 16, and the 
Fair American 14, to his command. With these vessels in com- 
pany, and under his orders, Captain Biddle sailed, early in 1778, in 
quest of the British ships, the Carrysfort 32, the Perseus 29, the 
Hinchinbrook 16, and a privateer, which had been cruising off 
Charleston for sometime. Tlie American squadron, however, had 



78 NAVAL HISTORY. [1776. 

been detained so long by foul winds, that, when it got into tlie oft- 
ing, no traces of the enemy were to be discovered. For the further 
history of the Randolph, we are unhappily indebted to the British ac- 
counts. 

By a letter from Captain Vincent, of his Britannic Majesty's ship 
Yarmouth, 64, dated March 17th 1778, we learn that, on the 7th of 
that month, while cruising to the eastward of Barbadoes, he made 
six sail to the southwest, standing on a wind. The Yarmouth bore 
down on the chases, Avhich proved to be two ships, three brigs, and a 
schooner. About nine o'clock in the evening she succeeded in 
ranging up on the weather quarter of the largest and leading vessel 
of the strangers ; the ship next in size, being a little astern and to lee- 
ward. Hoisting her own colours, the " Yarmouth ordered the ship 
near her to show her ensign, when the American flag was run up, 
and the enemy poured in a broadside. A smart action now com- 
menced, and was maintained with vigour for twenty minutes, when 
the stranger blew up. The two ships were so near each other at the 
time, that many fragments of the wreck struck the Yarmouth, and 
among other things, an American ensign, rolled up, was blown in 
upon her forecastle. This flag was not even singed. The vessels 
in company now steered dift'erent ways, and the Yarmouth gave 
chase to two, varying her own course for that purpose. But her sails 
had suffered so much in the engagement, that the vessels chased 
soon run her out of sight. In this short action the Yarmouth, by 
tl^e report of her oAvn commander, had Ave men killed and twelve 
wounded. On the ISth, while cruising near the same place, a piece 
of wreck was discovered, Avitli four men on it, who were making 
signals for relief. These men were saved, and when they got on 
board the Yarmouth, they reported themselves as having belonged 
to the United States ship Randolph 32, Captain Biddle, the vessel 
that had blown up in action with the English ship on the night of the 
7th of the same month. They had been floating ever since on the 
piece of wreck, without any other sustenance than a little rain water. 
They stated that they were a month out of Charleston. 

We regard with admiration the steadiness and spirit with which 
according to the account of his enemy, Captain Biddle commenced 
this action, against a force so vastly his superior ; and, although vic- 
tory was almost hopeless, even had all his vessels behaved equally 
well with his own ship, we find it difficult, under the circumstances, 
to suppose that this gallant seaman did not actually contemplate 
carrying his powerful antagonist, most probably by boarding.* 

* Nicholas Biddle waf? descended from one of those respectable families tli at first 
peopled West Jersey, in the last quarter of the seventeenth centuiy. He was the sixth 
son of William Biddle, of that colony, who had removed to the city of Philadelphia pre- 
viously to his birth, and where this child was born, in 1750. Yountj Biddle went to sea 
at thirteen, and from that early at^e appears to have devoted himself to the calling with 
ardour and perseverance. After several voyatres, and suffering much in the way of 
shipwreck, he went to Ens:land, and by means of letters, was rated as a midshipman on 
board of a British sloop of war, commanded by Captain, afterwards Admiral, Sterling. 
It is a singular fact in the life of this remarkable young man, that he subsequently en- 
tered on board one of llie vessels sent towards the North Pole, under the Hon. Captain 
Phipps, where he found Nelson a volunteer like himself Both were made cockswains 
by the commodore. This was in 1775, and the difficulties with the American colonies 



1777.] NAVAL HISTORY. 79 

In March, 1777, the United States brig Cabot, Captain Ohiey, 
was chased ashore, on the coast of Nova Scotia by the British frig- 
ate Milford, which pressed the Cabot so hard that there was barely 
time to get the people out of the brig. Captain Olney and his crew 
retreated into the woods, and subsequently they made their escape 
by seizing a schooner, in which they safely arrived at home. The 
enemy, after a long trial, got the Cabot oft', and she was taken into 
the British navy. 

Shortly after this loss, or on the 9th of April, the Trumbull 28, 
Captain Saltonstall, fell in with, oft'New York, and captured after a 
smart action, two armed transports, with stores of value on board. 
In this aftair the enemy suft'ered severely in casualties, and the Trum- 
bull herself had 7 men killed and S wounded. 

In May of this year, the Hancock 32, Capt. John Manly, and the 
Boston 24, Capt. Hector McNiel, sailed in company from Boston, on 
a cruise to the eastward, A few days out, or in the month of May, 
the Hancock made a strange sail, early in the morning, and suc- 
ceeded in getting near enough to her to exchange broadsides, on op- 
posite tacks ; the Hancock using her starboard and the enemy his 
larboard guns. At this time, the Boston Avas out of gun-shot. Find- 
ing that he had to deal with an antagonist of supei'ior force, the 
English vessel, which was a frigate, stood on, crowding sail to es- 
cape. The Hancock now went about, in pursuit, when Captain 
Manly sent his people from the guns, and ordered them to got their 
breakfasts. As the Hancock was one of the fastest ships that was 
ever built, she quickly drew up abeam ofthe chase, which renewed her 
fire as soon as her guns would bear. Captain Manly, however, 
commanded his men not to discharge a gun, vmtil fairly alongside, 
when a warm and close action commenced, that lasted an hour and 
a half, when the Boston drawing near, the Englishman struck. The 

prize proved to be the Fox 28, Capt. . In this action the 

Hancock lost 8 men, and the Fox 32. The Boston did not fire a 

were coming to a head. In 1775, Mr. Biddle returned home, prepared to share his 
country's fortunes, in weal or wo. 

The first employment of Mr. Biddle, in the public service, was in command of a gal- 
ley called the Camden, fitted out by the colony for the defence ofthe Delaware. From 
this station he was transfen-ed to the service of Conj^ress, or put into the regular marine, 
as it then existed, and given the command ofthe brig Andrea Doria, 14. In this vessel 
he docs not appear to have had much share in the combat with the Glasgow, though 
present in the squadron, and in the expedition against New Providence. His successful 
cruise to the eastward, in the Doria, has been related in the body of the work, and on his 
return he w^as appointed to the Randoph, 32, the vessel in which he perished. 

In the action with the Yarmouth, Captain Biddle was severely wounded in the thigh, 
and is said to have been seated in a chair, with the surgeon examining his hurt, when 
his ship blew up. His death occurred at the early aire of twenty-seven, and he died 
unmarried, though engaged, at the time, to a lady in Charleston. 

Tliere is little question that Nicholas Biddle would have risen to high rank and great 
consideration, had his life been spared. Ardent, ambitious, fearless, intelligent, and 
persevering, be had all the qualities of a great naval captain, and, though possessing 
some local family influence perhaps, he rose to the station he filled at so early an age, by 
personal merit. For so short a career, scarcely any other had been so brilliant ; for 
though no victories over regular cruisers accompanied his exertions, he had ever been 
successful until the fatal moment when he so gloriously fell. His loss was greatly re- 
gretted in the mid.st of the excitement and vicissitudes of a revolution, and can scarcely 
be appreciated by those who do not understand the influence lliat such a character can 
produce on a small and infant service. 



80 NAVAL HISTORY. [1777. 

gun until just after the Fox had struck, when she is said to have 
given her a hroadside, the Hancock being in the act of lowering the 
boats to take possession, as her consort ranged up on the beam of 
the prize. 

Captain Manly, now, put a crew on board the Fox, and con- 
tinuefl his cruise, but was not fortunate enough to fall in with any 
thing of moment. On the 1st of June, the three ships appeared off 
Halifax, in company, looking into the harbour. This brought out 
the Rainbow, a 44 on two decks. Sir George Collier, the Flora 32, 
and the Victor 18, in chase. The Americans scattered, the Rain- 
bow and Victor pressing the Hancock, the Flora the Fox, Avhile the 
Boston had so much the start, as to be able easily to keep aloof. 
The Flora first closed with the Fox, which ship she recaptured after 
a short, but spirited action. The wind being very light. Captain 
Manly attempted to hghten his ship, by pumping out the water, 
and is believed to have hurt her sailing, by altering the trim. Find- 
ing the Rainbow was closing, that gallant officer made his dispo- 
sitions for boarding, and doubtless, would have made a desperate 
effort to carry his powei-ful antagonist, had the wind permitted. The 
air remained so light, however, that the Rainbow got him fairly un- 
der her ffuns, before he could get near enough to accomplish the 
object. The Victor getting a raking position at the same time, the 
Hancock struck. 

Captain McNiel was much censured for abandoning his consort 
on this occasion, and was dismissed the service, in consequence. As 
respects the Hancock, it is not probable the Boston could have done 
much service, the Rainbow alone having been superior to them both, 
but our accounts state that being about a league to windward of the 
Fox, when she was engaged, it was in the power of Captain Mc- 
Niel to have rendered her essential assistance, and possibly to have 
prevented the recapture. No official accounts of the loss sus- 
tained, by either side, in this last affair, have been obtained. 

The occupation of Philadelphia by the British army, this year, 
wrought a material change in the naval aiTangements of the country. 
Up to this time, the Delaware had been a safe place of retreat for 
the different cruisers, and ships had been constructed on its banks 
in security and to advantage. The largest town in the United 
States, Philadelphia offered unusual facilities for such objects, and 
many public and private armed cruisers had been equipped at her 
wharves previously to the -appearance of the British forces, under 
Sir William Howe. That important event completely altered the 
state of things, and the vessels that were in the stream at the time, 
were compelled to move higher up the river, or to get to sea in the 
best manner they could. Unfortunately, several of the ships con- 
structed, or piu'chased, under the laws of 1775, were not in a situa- 
tion to adopt the latter expedient, and they were carrie'd to different 
places that were supposed to offer the greatest security. 

As a part of the American vessels and galleys Avcre above, and a 
part below the town, the very day after reaching the capital, the 
English commenced the erection of batteries to intercept the com- 



1777.] NAVAL HISTORY. 81 

munications between them. Aware of the consequences, the Dela- 
ware 21, Captain Alexander, and Andrea Doria 14, seconded by 
some other vessels, belonging to the navy, and to the State of Penn- 
sylvania, moved in front of these works, and opened a cannonade, 
with a view to destroy them. The Delaware was so unfortunately 
placed, that when the tide fell, she took the ground, and her guns 
became unmanageable. Some field pieces were brought to bear on 
her, while in this, helpless situation, and she necessarily struck. 
The other vessels were compelled to retire. 

As the command of the river was now indispenable to the British, 
they turned their attention at once to the destruction of the Ameri- 
can works below the town. An unsucpessful land attack was made 
by the Hessians, on Red Bank, and this was soon followed by an- 
other on Fort Mifflin, which, as it was ijitrusted to the shipping, 
comes more properly within our observation. With a view to eflect 
the reduction or abandonment of Fort Mifflin, the British assembled 
a squadron of ships of a light draft of water, among which was the 
Augusta 64, which had been partially stripped, and fitted in some 
measure as a floating battery. As soon as the troops advanced 
against Red Bank, as stated, the ships began to move, but some 
chevaux de frise anchored in the river, had altered its channel, and 
the Augusta, and the Merlin sloop of war, got fast, in unfavorable 
positions. Some firing between the other vessels and the American 
works and galleys now took place, but was soon put a stop to by the 
approach of night. The next day the action was renewed with 
spirit, the Roebuck 44, Isis 3:2, Pearl 32, and Liverpool 28, being 
present, in addition to the Augusta and Merlin. Fire-ships were in- 
efl!*ectually employed by the Americans, but the cannonade became 
heavy. In the midst of the firing, it is said, that some pressed hay, 
which had been secured on the quarter of the Augusta, to render her 
shot-proof, took fire, and the ship was soon in flames. It now be- 
came necessary to withdraw the other vessels in order to escape the 
effects of the explosion, and the attack was abandoned. The Au- 
gusta blew up, and the Merlin having been set on fire by the British 
shared the same fate. A number of the crew of the Augusta were 
lost in that ship, the conflagration being so rapid as to prevent their 
removal. A second and better concerted attack, however, shortly 
after, compelled the Americans to evacuate the works, when the en- 
emy got command of the river from the capes to the town. This 
state of things induced the Americans to destroy the few sea vessels 
that remained below Philadelphia, among which were the U. S. Brig 
Andrea Doria 14, and schooner Wasp 8, and it is believed the Hor- 
net 10, though the galleys, by following the Jersey shore, were en- 
abled to escape above. 

While these important movements were occurring in the middle 
states, the Raleigh, a fine twelve-pounder frigate, tiiat had been con- 
structed in New Hampshire, under the law of 177.5, was enabled to 
get to sea for the first time. She was commanded by Ca|)tain 
Thompson, the officer who appears as sixtii on the list, and sailed in 
company with the Alfred 24, Captain Hinman. These two ships 

VOL. I. 6 



82 NAVAL HISTORY. [1777. 

went to sea, short of men, bound to France, where military stores 
were in waiting to be transported to America. 

The Raleigh and Alfred had a good run off the coast, and they 
made several prizes of little value during the first few days of their 
passage. On the 2d of September they overtook and captured a 
snow, called the Nancy, which had been left by the outward bound 
Windward Island fleet, the previous day. Ascertaining from his 
prisoners the position of the West Indiamen, Captain Thompson 
made sail in chase. The fleet was under the charge of the Camel, 
Druid, Weasel, and Grasshopper, the first of which is said to have 
had an armament of twelve pounders. The following day, or Sep- 
tember 3d, 1777, the Raleigh made the convoy from her mast heads, 
and by sunset was near enough to ascertain that there were sixty sail, 
as well as the positions of the men-of-war. Captain Thompson had 
got the signals of the fleet from his prize, and he now signalled the 
Alfred, as if belonging to the convoy. After dark he spoke his con- 
sort, and directed her commander to keep near him, it being his 
intention to run in among the enemy, and to lay the commodore 
aboard. At this time, the two American ships were to windward, 
but nearly astern. 

In the course of the night the wind shifted to the northAvard, and 
the convoy hauled by the wind, bringing the American ships to lee 
ward. At daylight the wind had freshened, and it became necessary 
to carry more sail than the Alfred (a tender-sided ship) could bear. 
Here occurred one of those instances of the unfortunate conse- 
quences which must always follow the employment of vessels of 
unequal qualities in the same squadron, or the employment of offi- 
cers not trained in the same hiirh school. The Alfred would not 
bear her canvass, and while the Raleigh fetched handsomely into the 
fleet, under double-reefed topsails, the former fell to leeward more 
than a league. Captain Thompson did not dare to shorten sail, lest 
his character might be suspected, and despairing of being supported 
by the Alfred, he stood boldly in among the British ships alone, and 
hove-to his ship in order to permit the merchantmen astern to draw 
more ahead of him. 

When his plan was laid. Captain Thompson filled away, and stood 
directly through the convoy, luffing up towards the vessel of war that 
was most to windward. In doing this he spoke several of the mer- 
chantmen, giving them orders liow to steer, as if belonging himself 
to the fleet, and repeating all the commodore's signals. Up to this 
moment the Raleigh appears to have escaped detection, nor had she 
had any signs of preparation about her, as her guns were housed, 
and her ports lowered. 

Having obtained a weatherly position, the Raleigh now ran along- 
side of the vessel of war, and Avhen within pistol-shot, she hauled up 
her courses, run out her guns, set her ensign, and commanded the 
enemy to strike. So completely was this vessel taken by surprise, 
that tlie order threw her into great confusion, and even her sails got 
aback. The Raleigh seized this favourable moment to pour in a 
oroadside, which Avas feebly returned. The enemy were soon driven 



1777.] NAVAL HISTORY. 83 

from their guns, and the Raleigh fired twelve broadsides .into the 
English ship in twenty minutes, scarcely receiving a shot in return. 
A heavy swell rendered the aim uncertain, but it was evident that 
the British vessel suffered severely, and this the more so, as she was 
of inferior force. 

A squall had come on, and at first it shut in the two ships engaged. 
When it cleared away, the convoy was seen steering in all directions, 
in the utmost confusion, but the vessels of war, with several heavy 
well-armed West Indiamen, tacked and hauled up for the Raleigh, 
leaving no doubt of their intentions to engage. The frigate lay by 
her adversary until the other vessels were so near, that it became 
absolutely necessary to quit her, and then she ran to leeward and 
joined the Alfred. Here she shortened sail, and waited for the en- 
ray to come down, but it being dark, the British commodore tacked 
and hauled in among his convoy again. The Raleigh and Alfred 
kept near this fleet for several days, but no provocation could induce 
the vessels of war to come out of it, and it was finally abandoned. 

The ship engaged by tl^e Raleigh, proved to be the Druid 20, Cap- 
tain Carteret. She was much cut up, and the official report of her 
commander, made her loss six killed, and twenty-six wounded. Of 
the latter, five died soon after the action, and among the wounded 
was her commander. The Druid was unable to pursue the voyage, 
and returned to England. 

In this afli'air, Captain Thompson discovered a proper spirit, for 
he might easily have cut out of the fleet half a dozen merchantmen, 
but he appears to have acted on the principle tbat vessels of war 
should first seek vessels of war. The Raleigh had three men killed 
and wounded in the engagement, but otherwise sustained little injury. 

The commerce of England suffered a loss of 467 sail of mer- 
chantmen, during the year 1777, some of which were of great value, 
though the government kept a force of about seventy sail of men-of- 
war on the American coast alone. Many American privateers fell 
into their hands however, and a scarcity of men began to be felt, in 
consequence of the numbers that were detained in the English prisons. 
It was on the 14th of June of this year, that Congress finally estab- 
lished the stars and stripes as the flag of the nation. 

During this year, Bushnel made several unsuccessful attempts to 
blow up the ships of the enemy by means of torpedoes, a species of 
warfiire that it can hardly be regretted has so uniformly failed, since 
its tendency is to aggravate the evils of hostilities, without essentially 
conducing to bring them to a termination. 



/ 



84 NAVAL HISTORY. [1778. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Alliance with France New frigates Seizure of New Providence by Capt. Ratb- 

bame Capture of the Alfred Loss of the Virginia, Capt. Nicholson, on a bar in 

the Delaware.. ..American vessels destroyed on the Delaware. ...John PaulJones com- 
mands the Ranger attempt to capture the Drake to burn the colliers at White- 
haven to seize the Earl of Selkirk his conduct to Lady Selkirk action with, 

and capture of the Drake The Pigol cut out by Major Talbot The private anned 

ship Thorn, Capt. Waters, engages the Governor Tryon and the Sir William Erskine, 

and captures the latter Capture of the Sparlin Capt. John Barry, captures a British 

schooner and four transports.. ..his appointment to die Raleigh and action with the 
Experiment and Unicorn Loss of the Raleigh. 



The year 1778 opened with cheerful prospects for the great cause 
of American Independence ; the capture of Burgoyne, and the 
growing discontents in Europe, rendering a French alhance, and a Eu- 
ropean war, daily more probable. These events, in truth, soon after 
followed, and from tliat moment, the entire policy of the United 
States, as related to its marine, was changed. Previously to this 
great event. Congress had often turned its attention towards the ne- 
cessity of building or purchasing vessels of force, in order to inter- 
rupt that absolute control which the enemy possessed, in the imme- 
diate Avaters of the country, and which even superseded the necessity 
of ordinary blockades, as two or three heavy frigates had been able, 
at any time, since the commencement of the struggle, to command 
the entrance of the different bays and sounds. 

The French fleet, soon after the war between England and France 
broke out, appeared in the American seas, and, in a measure, re- 
lieved the country from a species of warfare that was particularly 
oppressive to a nation that was then so poor, and which possessed so 
great an extent of coast. 

As the occupation of New York and Philadelphia prevented sev- 
eral of the new frigates from getting to sea at all, or occasioned their 
early loss. Congress had endeavoured to repair these deficiencies by 
causing other vessels to be built, or purchased, at points where they 
would be out of danger from any similar misfortunes. Among these 
ships were the Alliance 32, Confederacy 32, Deane 32, (afterwards 
called the Hague,) and Queen of France 28, all frigate-built, and the 
Ranger, Gates, and Saratoga sloops of war. To these were added 
a few other vessels, that were either bouglit, or borrowed in Europe, 
which will be mentioned in their proper places. The Alliance, 
which, as her name indicates, was launched about the time the treaty 
was made with France, was the favourite ship of the American 
navy, and it might be added of the American nation, during the war 
of the Revolution ; filling some such space in the public mind, as 
has since been occupied by her more celebrated successor, the Con- 
.stitution. She was a beatitifid and an exceedingly fast .ship, but, as 
•vill be seen in the sequel, was rendered less eflicient than she might 
otlierwise have proved, by the mistake of placing her under the 
command of a French officer, with a view to pay a compliment to 



1778.] NAVAL HISTORY. 85 

the new allies of the republic. This unfortunate selection produced 
mutinies, much discontent among the officers, and, in the end, orave 
irregularities. The Alliance was built at Salisbury, in Massachusetts 
a place that figured as a building station, even in the seventeenth 
century. 

The naval operations of the year open with a gallant little exploit, 
achieved by the United States sloop Providence 12, Captain Rath- 
burne. This vessel carried only four pounders, and, at the time, is 
said to have had a crew of but fifty men on board. Notwithstand- 
ing this trifling force. Captain Rathburne made a descent on the 
Island of New Providence, at the head of twenty -five men. He was 
joined by a few American prisoners, less than thirty, it is said, and, 
while a privateer of sixteen guns, with <a crew of near fifty men, lay 
in the harbour, he seized the foits, got possession of the stores, and 
effectually obtained command of the place. All the vessels in port, 
six in number, fell into his hands, and an attempt of the armed pop- 
ulation to overpower him, was put down, by a menace to burn the 
town. A British sloop of war appeared oft* the harbour, while the 
Americans were in possession, but, ascertaining that an enemy was 
occupying the works, she retired, after having been fired on. The 
following day, the people assembled in such force, as seriously to 
threaten the safety of his party and vessel, and Captain Rathburne 
caused the guns of the fort to be spiked, removed all the ammmiition 
and small arms, burned two of his prizes, and sailed with the re- 
mainder, without leaving a man behind him. In this daring little 
enterprise, the Americans held the place two entire days. 

Captain .John Barry, whose spirited action oft' the capes of Vir- 
ginia, in the Lexington 14, has been mentioned, and whose capture 
of the Edward, on that occasion, is worthy of note, as having been 
the first of any vessel of war, that was ever made by a regular Amer- 
ican cruiser in battle, was placed on the regulated list of October, 
1770, as the seventh captain, and appointed to the command of the 
Effingham 28, then building at Philadelphia. The Effingham was 
one of the vessels that had been taken up the Delaware, to escape 
from the Britisli army ; and this gallant officer, wearied with a life 
of inactivity, planned an expedition down the stream, in the hope of 
striking a blow at some of the enemy's vessels anchored off", or below 
the town. Manning four boats, he pulled down with the tide. Some 
alarm was given when opposite the town, but dashing ahead, two of 
the barges got past without injury. Oft" Port Penn lay an enemy's 
schooner of ten guns, and thirty two men, and four transports, with 
freight for the British army. The schooner was boarded and carried, 
without loss, and the transports fell into the hands of the Americans 
also. Two cruisers appearing soon after in the river, however. Cap- 
tain Barry destroyed his prizes, and escaped by land, without losing 
a man. On this occasion, the force actually present with Barry con- 
sisted of only twenty eight men. 

Following the order of time, we now return to the movements of 
the two ships under the command of Captain Thompson, the Raleigh 
and the Alfred. After taking in military stores in France, these 



86 NAVAL HISTORY. [1778. 

vessels sailed for America, making a circuit to the southward, as 
was then quite usual with cruisers thus employed, in order to avoid 
the enemy's vessels of force, and to pick up a few prizes by the way. 
They sailed from I'Orient in February, 1778, and on the 9th of 
March, were chased by the British ships Ariadne and Ceres, which 
succeeded in getting alongside of the Alfred, and engaging her, 
while the Raleigh was at a distance. Believing a contest fruitless, 
after exchanging a fewbroadsides, the Alfred struck, but the Raleigh, 
though hard pressed, in the chase that succeeded, made her escape. 
Captain Thompson was blamed in the journals of the day, for not 
aidino- his consort on this occasion ; and he appears to have been 
superseded in the command of his ship, to await the result of a trial. 
The British accounts state the force of the Alfred, at the time of 
her capture, at twenty nine-pounders, which will give us a more ac- 
curate idea of the real character of a vessel that filled so prominent 
a situation in the navy, at its formation. Twenty nine-pounders, 
wovild not probably raise her above the rate of an English twenty 
gun ship, even allowing her to have had a few sixes on»her quarter- 
deck and forecastle ; and this, probably, was the true class of both 
the Alfred and Columbus, ships that figure as twenty-eights, and 
even as thirty-twos, in some of the earlier accounts of the war. 
But, it should always be remembered, that a disposition to exagger- 
ate the power of the country, by magnifying the force of the ships, 
a practice peculiar to an infant and aspiring people, was a fault of 
the popular accounts of not only the Revolution, but of a still later 
period in the history of the United States. 

Among the frigates ordered by the act of 1775, was one called the 
Virginia 28, which had been laid down in Maryland. To this ves- 
sel was assigned Captain James Nicholson, the senior captain on the 
list, an officer who had already discovered conduct and spirit in an 
affair with one of the enemy's tenders off Annapolis, while serving 
in the local marine of Maryland. The great embarrassments which 
attended most of the public measures of the day, and a vigilant 
blockade, prevented the Virginia from getting to sea, until the spring 
of this year, when having received her crew and equipments, she 
made the attempt on the 30th of March. 

The frio-ate appears to have followed another vessel down the 
Chesapeake, under the impression that the best pilot of the bay was 
in charo^e of her. About three in the morning, however, she struck 
on the middle ground, over which she beat with the loss of her rud- 
der. The ship was immediately anchored. Day discovered two 
English vessels of war at no great distance, when Captain Nichol- 
son got ashore with his papers, and the ship was taken possession of 
by the enemy. An inquiry, instituted by Congress, acquitted Captain 
Nicholson of blame. The peculiarity of a commander's abandoning 
his vessel under such circumstances, gave rise to some comments at 
the time, but the result renders it probable that co)isiderations of im- 
portance, that were not generally known, induced the step. A trial 
was not deemed necessary, and Captain Nicholson subsequently 



1778.] NAVAL HISTORY. 87 

fought two of the most remarkable combats of the war, though suc- 
cessful iu neither. 

But merit in warfare is not always to be measured by success, and ^ 
least of all, in a profession that is liable to so many accidents and 1 
circumstances that lie beyond the control of man. An unexpected 
shift of wind, the sudden loss of an important spar, or the unfortu- \ 
nate injury occasioned by a single shot, may derange the best devis- i 
ed schemes, or enfeeble the best appointed ship; and it is in repairing 
these unexpected damages, in the steadiness, and order, and sub- 
mission to authority, with which casualties are met, as well as in the 
greater efl'ect of their attack, that the trained officers a)id men mani- 
fest their vast superiority over the hurried and confused movements 
of those who are wanting in these high qualities of discipline. 

Leaving the ocean for a moment, we will now turn our attention 
to the proceedings of the enemy again, in the Delaware. Early in 
May, an expedition left Philadelphia, under the command of Major 
Maitland, and ascended that river with a view to destroy the Ameri- 
can shipping, which had been carried up it to escape the invading and 
successful army of the enemy. The force consisted of the schooners 
Viper and Pembroke ; the Hussar, Cornwallis, Ferret, and Phila- 
delphia galleys ; four gun-boats, and eighteen flat-boats, under the 
orders of Captain Henry of the navy. The 2d battalion of the light- 
infantry, and two field pieces composed the troops. Ascending the 
stream to a point above Bristol, the troops landed, under cover of the 
guns of the flotilla, without opposition. Indeed, there does not ap- 
pear to have been any force to oppose the British on this occasion, or, 
if any, one of so little moment, as to put a serious contest out of the 
question. The Washington 32, and Effingham 28, both of which 
had been built at Philadelphia, but had never got to sea, were burned. 
These ships had not yet received tlieir armaments. At this point 
several other vessels were destroyed, privateers and merchantmen, 
and the party proceeded to Croswise Creek, where the privateer 
Sturdy Beggar 18, and eight sail of other vessels were set on fire 
and consumed. The next day the British ascended to Bile's 
Island, and burned six more crafi;, four of which were pierced for 
guns. On descending by land to Bristol, a ship and a brig were 
destroyed. After this, four new ships, a new brig, and an old 
schooner were burned by the galleys, the party returning to Phila- 
delphia that night, without losing a man. By this coup dt main, the 
Americans lost two more of the frigates authorised by the law of 
1775 ; and though it is not now easy to ascertain facts so minute, it 
is believed that two or three of the smallest of the cruisers that ap- 
pear on the list of the navy, at its formation, were destroyed by the 
English on this occasion. The Hornet, Sachem, Independence, and 
Musqnito, are not to be traced subsequently to this period, and if not 
burned v/hen this expedition occurred, it is probable that they all 
were burnt with the Wasp, in 1777. To compensate for these losses, 
not a single frigate of the enemy had yet been brought into port, 
though the Fox 28, had been captured. 

About this time the celebrated Paul Jones, whose conduct as a 



88 NAVAL HISTORY. [1778. 

lieutenant in the Alfred, and in the command of that ship, as well as 
in tiiat of the Providence 12, had attracted much attention, appeared 
in the European seas in command of the Ranger IS. So cautious 
had the American government got to be, in consequence of the British 
remonstrances, that orders were given to the Ranger to conceal her 
armament while in France. This vessel, which is described as 
having been both crank and slow, was not thought worthy of so 
good an officer, by the Marine Committee, and he had been promised 
a better ship ; but the exigencies of the service did not admit of the 
fulfilment of this engagement, and Captain Jones, after a long delay, 
had been induced to take this command, in preference to remaining 
idle. It is said, however, that he came to Europe in the hope of ob- 
taining the Indien, but that vessel had been presented to the King of 
France previously to his arrival. 

After going into Brest to refit. Captain Jones sailed from that port 
on the 10th of April, 1778, on a cruise in the Irish Channel. As 
the Ranger passed along the coast, she made several prizes, and 
getting as high as Whitehaven, Captain Jones determined, on the 
17th, to make an attempt to burn the colliers that were crowded In 
that narrow port. The weather, however, prevented the execution 
of this project, and the ship proceeded as high as Glentine, bay, on the 
coast of Scotland, where she chased a revenue vessel without success. 
Quitting the Scottish coast, the Ranger next crossed to Ireland, 
and arriving off Carrickfergus, she was boarded by some fishermen. 
From these men Captain Jones ascertained that a ship which lay 
anchored in the roads, was the Drake sloop of war. Captain Burden, 
a vessel of a force about equal to that of the Ranger, and he imme- 
diately conceived apian to run in and take her. Preparations were 
accordinglv made to attempt the enterprise as soon as it was dark. 

It blew fresh in the night, but when the proper hour had arrived, 
the Ranger stood for the roads, having accurately obtained the bear- 
ings of the enemy. The orders of Captain Jones were to overlay 
ifhe cable of the Drake, and to bring up on her bows, where he in- 
tended to secure his own ship, and abide the result. By some mis- 
take, the anchor was not let go in season, and instead of fetching up 
in the desired position, the Ranger could not be checked until she 
had drifted on the quarter of the Drake, at a distance of half a cable's 
length. Perceiving that his object was defeated. Captain Jones or- 
dered the cable to he cut, when the ship drifted astern, and, making 
sail, she hauled by the wind as soon as possible. The gale increas- 
ing, itAvas with great difficulty that the Ranger weathered the land, 
and regained the channel. 

Captain Jones now stood over to the English coast, and believing 
the time more favourable, he attempted to, execute his former design 
on the shipping in the port of Whitehaven. Two parties landed in 
the night; the forts were seized and the guns were spiked ; the few 
look-outs that were in the works being confined. In effecting this 
duty Captain Jones was foi*emost in person, for, having once sailed 
out of the ])ort, he was familiar with the situation of the place. An 
accident common to both the parties into which the expedition had 



1778.] NAVAL HISTORY. 89 

been divided, came near defeating the enterprise in the outset. They 
had brought candles in h^nterns, for the double purpose of hghts and 
torches, and, now that they were about to be used as the latter, it was 
found that they were all consumed. As the day was appearing, the 
party under Mr. Wallingford, one of the lieutenants, took to its boat 
without effecting any thing, while Captain Jones sent to a detached 
building and obtained a candle. He boai'ded a large ship, kindled 
a lire in her steerage, and by placing a barrel of "tar over the spot, 
soon had the vessel in flames. The tide being out, this ship lay in 
the midst of more than a hundred others, high and dry, and Captain 
Jones flattered himself with the hope of signally revenging the dep- 
redations that the enemy had so freely committed on the American 
coast. But, by this time, the alarm was effectually gwen, and the 
entire population appeared on the adjacent high ground, or were 
seen rushing in numbers towards the shipping. The latter Avere 
easily driven back by a show of force, and remaining a sufticient 
time, as he thought, to make sure of an extensive conflagration, Cap- 
tain Jones took to his boats and pulled towards his ship. Some guns 
were fired on the retiring boats without effect ; but the people of the 
place succeeded in extinguishing the flames before the mischief be- 
came very extensive. 

The hardihood, as Avell as the nature of this attempt, produced a 
great alarm along the whole English coast, and from that hour, even 
to this, the name of Jones, in the minds of the people of Whiteha- 
ven, is associated with audacity, destruction, and danger. 

While cruising, with the utmost boldness, as it might be in the very 
heart of the British waters, with the coasts of the three kingdoms 
frequently in view at the same moment. Captain Jones, who was a 
native of the country, decided to make an attempt to seize the Earl 
of Selkirk, who had a seat on St. Mary's Isle, near the point where 
the Dee flows into the channel. A party landed, and got possession 
of the house, but its master was absent. The officer in command of 
the boats so far forgot himself as to bring away a quantity of the 
family plate, although no other injury was done, or any insult offered. 
This plate, the value of which did not exceed a hundred pounds, 
was subsequently purchased of the crew by Captain Jones, and re- 
turned to Lady Selkirk, with a letter expressive of his regrets at the 
occurrence. 

After the landing mentioned, the Ranger once more steered towards 
Ireland, Captain Jones still keeping in view his design on the Drake, 
and arrived off Carrickfergus again, on the 24th. The commander 
of the latter ship, sent out an officer, in one of his boats, to ascertain 
the character of the stranger. By means of skilful handling, the 
Ranger was kept end-on to the boat, and as the officer in charge of 
the latter could merely see the ship's stern, although provided with a 
glass, he suffered himself to be decoyed alongside, and was taken. 
From the prisoners. Captain Jones learned that intelligence of his 
descents on Whitehaven and St. Mary's Isle had reached Belfast, 
and that the people of the Drake had weighed the anchor he had 
lost in his attempt on that ship. 



90 NAVAL HISTORY. [1778. 

Under these circumstances, Captain Jones believed that the com- 
mander of the Drake would not long defer coming out in search of 
his boat ; an expectation that was shortly realised, by the appearance 
of the English ship under way. The Ranger now filled and stood 
off the land, with a view to draw her enemy more into the channel, 
where she lay to, in waiting for the latter to come on. Several small 
vessels accompanied the Drake, to witness the combat, and many 
volunteers had gone on board her, to assist in capturing the Ameri- 
can privateer, as it was the fashion of the day to term the vessels of 
the young republic. The tide being unfovourable, the Drake worked 
out of the roads slowly, and night was approaching before she drew 
near the Ranger. 

The Drake, when she got sufficiently nigh, hailed, and received 
the name of her antagonist, by way of challenge, with a request to 
come on. As the two ships were standing on, the Drake a little to 
leeward and astern, the Ranger put her helm up, a manoeuvre that 
the enemy imitated, and the former.gave the first broadside, firing as 
her guns bore. The wind admitted of but few changes, but the 
battle was fought running free, under easy canvass. It lasted an 
hour and four minutes, Avhen the Drake called for quarter, her en- 
sign being already down. 

The English ship was much cut up, both in her hull and aloft, 
and Captain Jones computed her loss at about forty men. Her cap- 
tain and lieutenant were both desperately wounded, and died shortly 
after the engagement. The Ranger suffered much less, having 
Lieutenant Wallingford and one man killed, and six wounded. The 
Drake was not only a heavier ship, but she had a much stronger 
crev/ than her antagonist. She had also two guns the most. 

After securing her prize and repairing damages, the Ranger went 
round the north of Ireland, and shaped her course for Brest. She 
was chased repeatedly, but arrived safely at her port with the Drake, 
on the Sth of May. 

Whatever may be thought of the conduct of Captain Jones in 
turning a local knowledge acquired in the manner mentioned, to 
such an account, there can be no doubt that the course pursued by 
the enemy on the American coast, would have fully justified the 
covirse he took in any other officer in the service ; and it is due to 
Captain Jones, to say, that he had, personally, been so much vilified 
by the British press, as quite naturally to have weakened any re- 
mains of national attachment that he may formerly have entertain- 
ed. The natives of Great Britain, that served on the American 
side, in this great contest, were not essentially in a position different 
from that of those who had been born in the colonies. The war, in 
one seuse, was a civil waj', and the conduct of all who look part in 
it, was to be measured by the merits of the main question. The 
Englishman actually established in the colonies, when the struggle 
commenced, was essentially in the situation of the native ; ajid if the 
latter had a moral right to resist the encroachments of the British 
Parliament, it was a right that extended to tlie former, since ii was 
not a question of birthplace that was at issue, but one of local and 



1778.] NAVAL HISTORY. 91 

territorial interests. By transferring himself to England, the native 
of America would have avoided the injuries, and shared in the ad- 
vantages of the offensive policy ; and by transferring himself to 
America, the native of England became the subject of its wrongs. 
Both steps were legal, and it follows as a legitimate consequence, 
that all the moral as well as legal rights dependent on their exercise, 
were carried with them. 

Mr. Silas Talbot, of Rhode Island, who had been a seaman in his 
youth, had taken service in the army, and October 10th, 1777, he 
had been raised to the rank of a Major, to reward him for a spirited 
attempt to set fire to one of the enemy's cruisers in the Hudson. In 
the autumn of the present year (1778), Major Talbot headed another 
expedition against the British scliooner Pigot, 8, then lying in the 
eastern passage between Rhode Island and tlie main land, in a small 
sloop that had two light guns, and which was manned by 60 volun- 
teers. The Pigot had 45 men, and one heavy gun in her bows, 
besides the I'est of her armament. Her commander showed great 
bravery, actually fighting alone on deck, in his shirt, when every man 
of his crew had run below. Major Talbot carried the schooner 
without loss, and for his conduct and gallantry was promoted to be a 
Lieutenant Colonel. The following year this ofiicer was transferred 
to the navy. Congress passing an especial resolution to that effect, 
with directions to the Marine Committee to give him a ship on the 
first occasion. It does not appear, however, that it was in the power 
of the committee, at that period of the wai^-to appoint Captain 
Talbot to a government vessel, and he is believed to have served, 
subsequently, in a private armed ship. 

It has already been intimated, that the appearance of a French 
fleet, in July, 1778, off" Newport, materially changed the character 
of the war, so far as the American marine was concerned. On this 
occasion, the enemy destroyed the following ships at, or near New- 
port, to prevent their falling into the hands of the French, viz: the 
Juno, 32; Orpheus, 3:2; Cerberus, 32; Lark, 32; Flora, 32 ; and 
Falcon, 18. 

It will give some idea of the condition of the American marine at 
this time, if we state that a month previously to the arrival of the 
French, the following vessels wer^ lyi'ig f^t Boston. They appear 
to have composed most of the disposable naval force of the United 
States, in the American seas, viz: Warren, 32, Captain John Hop- 
kins; Raleigh, 32, Captain Thompson ; Uealie, (afterwards Hague,) 
32, Captain S. Nicholson ; Tyrannicide, 14, State cruiser, Captain 
Harding; Independence, 14, Captain Hazard; Sampson, 20; Han- 
cock, 20, (formerly Weymouth, a packet;) and Speedwell, 10. The 
four last were State cruisers, or privateers. Of this force. Captain 
Thompson was the senior officer. Several jirivate armed ships were 
cruising off* the eastern coast, at the same time, among which was 
the Mars, 24, Captain Truxtun. 

It has been said that many officers of the navy, previously to the 
period of the war at which we have now arrived, had been compelled 
to seek service in the privateers, for want of more regular employ- 



92 NAVAL HISTORY. [1778. 

ment, and among others was Captain Daniel Waters. While in 
command of the private armed ship Thorn, 16, out of Boston, Cap- 
tain Waters engaged the letter of marque. Governor Tryon, 16, 
Captain Stcbbins, and the Sir Wilham Erslujie, 18, Captain Ham- 
ilton, both fiUl manned. After a sharp action of two hours, the Tryon 
struck, and the Erskine made sail to escape. Instead of stopping 
to take possession of his prize, Captain Waters pursued the Erskine, 
and gettino- alongside, compelled her also to surrender. Throwing 
a crew on board this ship, the two vessels now went in quest of the 
Tryon, which had profited by the situation of the Thorn, to endeavour 
to escape. Favoured by the night, this vessel succeeded in getting 
off, and the next day the Erskine was sent into port. The Thorn 
had now but 60 men left, and in a few days, she fell in with the 
Sparlin, 18, whh 97 men, which she succeeded in taking after a 
fight of near an hour. The Thorn, and both her prizes, arrived 
safely in Boston. 

In consequence of the investigation connected with the loss of the 
Alfred, Captain Thompson was relieved from the command of the 
Raleioh 32, as has been said already, and that ship was given to 
Captain Barry. Under the orders of this new commander, the 
Raleigh sailed from Boston on the 25th of September, at six in the 
mornins', having a brig and a sloop under convoy. The wind was 
fresh at N. W., and the frigate run offN. E. At twelve, two strange 
sail were seen to leeward, distant fifteen or sixteen miles. Orders 
were given to the convoy to haul nearer to the wind, and to crowd 
all the sail it could carry, the strangers in chase. After dark the 
Raleigh lost sight of the enemy, as by tliis time the two ships were 
ascertained to be, and the wind became light and variable. The 
Raleigh now cleared for action, and kept her people at quarters all 
night, having tacked towards the land. In the morning it proved 
to be hazy, and the strangers were not to be seen. The Raleigh 
was still standing towards the land, which she shortly after made 
ahead, quite near. About noon, the haze clearing away, the enemy 
were seen in the southern board, and to Avindward, crowding sail in 
chase. The weather became thick again, and the Raleigh lost sight 
of her two pursuers, when she hauled off to the eastward. That night 
no more was seen of the enemy, a;id at daylight Captain Barry took 
in every thing, with a view to conceal the position of the ship, wJiich 
was permitted to drift under bare poles. Finding nothing visible at 
6, A. !M., the Raleigh crowded sail once more, and stood S. E. by E. 
But at half past 9, the two sliips were again discovered astern, and in 
chase. The Raleigh now hauled close upon a wind, heading N. W., 
with her larboard tacks aboard. The enemy also came to the wind, 
all three vessels carrying hard with a staggering breeze. The Ra- 
leigh now fairly outsailed the strangers, running 11 knots 2 l;ithoms, 
on a dragged bowline. 

Unfortimately, at noon the wind moderated, when the leading 
vessel of the enemy overhaided the Raleigh quite fast, and even the 
ship astern held way with her. At 4, P. M., the Raleigh tacked to 
tlic westward, with a view to discover the force of the leading vessel 



1778.] NAVAL HISTORY. 93 

of the enemy, and, about the same time she made several low islands, 
the names of which were not known. At 5, P. M., the leading ves- 
sel of the enemy having nearly closed, the Raleigh edged away and 
crossed her fore foot, brailing her mizzen, and taking in her staysails. 
The enemy showed a battery of 14 guns of a side, including both 
decks, and set St. George's ensign. In passing, the Raleigh de- 
livered her broadside, Avliich was returned, when the sti'anger came 
up under the lee quarter of the American ship, and the action became 
steady and general. At the second fire, the Raleigh unfortunately 
lost her fore-topmast, and mizzen top-gallant-mast, which gave the 
enemy a vast advantage in manoeuvring throughout the remainder 
of the affair. Finding the broadside of the Raleigh getting to be too 
hot for him, the enemy soon shot ahead, and, for a short time, while 
the people of the former ship were clearing the wreck, he engaged 
to windward, and at a distance. Ei-e long, however, the English 
vessel edged away and attempted to rake the Raleigh, when Captain 
Barry bore up, and bringing the ships alongside each other, he en- 
deavoured to board, a step that the otlier, favoured by all his canvass, 
and his superiority of sailing in a light breeze, easily avoided. By 
this time, the second ship had got so near as to render it certain she 
would very soon close, "and, escape by flight being out of the ques- 
tion in the crippled condition of the ship. Captain Barry called a 
council of his officers. It was determined to make an attempt to run 
the frigate ashore, the land being then within a few miles. The 
Raleigh accordingly wore round, and stood for the islands already 
mentioned, her antagonist sticking to her in the most gallant manner, 
both ships maintaining the action with spirit. About midnight, how- 
ever, the enemy hauled off, and left the Raleigh to pursue her course 
towards the land. The engagement had lasted seven hours, much 
of the time in close action, and both vessels had suffered materially, 
the Raleigh in particular, in her spars, rigging, and sails. The 
darkness, soon after, concealing his ship. Captain Barry had some 
hopes of getting off among the islands, and was in the act of bending 
new sails, for that purpose, when the enemy's vessels again came in 
sight, closing fast. The Raleigh immediately opened a brisk fire 
from her stern guns, and every human effort was made to force the 
ship towards the land. The enemy, however, easily closed again, 
and opened a heavy fire, which was returned by the Raleigh until 
she grounded, when the largest of the enemy's ships immediately 
hauled off, to avoid a similar calamity, and, gaining a safe distance, 
both vessels continued their fire, from positions they had taken on 
the Raleigh's quarter. Captain Barry, finding that the island was 
rocky, and that it might be defended, determined to land, and to burn 
his ship; a project that was rendered practicable by the fact that the 
enemy had ceased firing, and anchored at the distance of about a 
mile. A large party of men got on shore, and the boats were about 
to return for tlie remainder, when it was discovered that, by the 
treachery of a petty officer, the ship had surrendered. 

The officers and men on the island escaped, but the ship was got 
off and placed in the British navy. The two ships that took the 



94 NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 

Raleigh were the Expei-iment 50, Captain Wallace, and the Unicorn 
22. The latter mounted 28 guns, and was the ship that engaged 
the Raleigh so closely, so long, and so obstinately. She was much 
cut up, losing her masts after the action, and had 10 men killed, 
besides many wounded. The Americans had 25 men killed and 
wounded, in the course of the whole affair. 

Captain Barry gained great credit for his gallantry on tliis occa- 
sion. He escaped to the main with a considerable portion of his 
crew, though not without great suffering, and a new ship was given 
to him on the first opportunity. The island on which he first landed, 
is called the Wooden Ball, and lies about twenty miles from the 
mouth of the Penobscot; being the outermost of all the islands and 
rocks in its immediate vicinity. In the chase the Raleigh shifted her 
ground about two degrees to the northward, and about one to the 
eastward. 

Thus terminated the year 1778, so far as it was connected with 
the service of the regular marine, though like all that had preceded, 
or which followed it, in this war, it gave rise to some handsome ex- 
ploits among the colony cruisers and privateers, some of which there 
may be occasion to mention in a chapter that will be devoted to that 
branch of the subject. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Alliance sails with Lafayette for France.. ..conspiracy on board.. ..Action of the 
Hampden with an Indiaman....Nine British vessels captured, and twenty-four British 
officers made prisoners, by Capt. Hopkins. ...Valuable prizes sent into Boston by Capt. 
Whipple. ...The Cumberland, Capt. Manly, is captured by tlie Pomona frigate. ...Capt. 
Manly in the private armed ship Jasou, engages with, and captures two British priva- 
teers. ...Description of the Bon Homme Richard... .Capture of a letter of marque, by Paul 
Jones... .Disobedience of orders, by Capt. Landais of the Alliance.. ..Capt Lawrence 
takes command of the Chesapeake.. ..Action of the Bon Homme Richard with, and 
capture of the Serapis....Capt. Landais fires into the Richard. ...she sinks. 

The year 1779 opened with the departure of the Alliance, 32, for 
France. It has already been stated that the command of this ship 
had been given to a Captain Landais, who was said to be a French 
officer of gallantry and merit. Unfortunately the prejudices of the 
seamen did not answer to the complaisance of the Marine Committee 
in this respect, and it was found difficult to obtain a crew willing to 
enlist under a French captain. When General Lafayette, after a 
detention of several months on the road, in consequence of severe 
illness, reached Boston near the close of 1778, in order to embark in 
the Alliance, it was found that the frigate was not j^et manned. De- 
sirous of rendering themselves useful to their illustrious guest, the 
government of Massachusetts offered to complete the ship's comple- 
ment by impressment, an expedient that had been adopted on more 
than one occasion during the war ; but the just-minded and benevo- 



1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. 95 

lent Lafayette would not consent to the measure. Anxious to sail, 
however, for he was entrusted with important interests, recourse was 
had to a plan to man the ship, which, if less objectionable on the 
score of principle, was scarcely less so in every other point of view. 
The Somerset 64, had been wrecked on the coast of New Eng- 
land, and part of her crew had found their way to Boston. By ac- 
cepting the proffered services of these men, those of some volunteers 
from among the prisoners, and those of a few French seamen that 
were also found in Boston after the departure of their fleet, a motley 
number was raised in siffficient time to enable the ship to sail on the 
11th of January. With this incomplete and mixed crew, Lafayette 
trusted himself on the ocean, and the result was near justifying the 
worst forebodings that so ill-advised a measure could have suggested. 
After a tempestuous passage, the Alliance got within two day's 
run of the English coast, when her officers and passengers, of the 
latter of whom there were many besides General Lafayette and his suite, 
received the startling information that a conspiracy existed among 
the English portion of the crew, some seventy or eighty men in all, 
to kill the officers, seize the vessel, and carry the frigate into Eng- 
land. With a view to encourage such acts of mutiny, the British 
Parliament had passed a law to reward all those crews that should 
run away with American ships ; and this temptation was too strong 
for men whose service, however voluntary it might be in appear- 
ances, was probably reluctant, and which had been compelled by 
circumstances, if not by direct coercion. 

The intentions of the mutineers appear to have been of the m©st 
ruthless and bloodthirsty character. By the original plan, the cry of 
" Sail ho !" was to be raised about daylight on the morning of the 
2d of February, when, as it was known that the officers and passen- 
gers would immediately appear on the quarter-deck, the attempt was 
to commence by seizing them in a body. The mutineers were 
divided into four parties, of which one was to get possession of the 
mfigazine, the second of the wardroom, the third of the cabin, and 
the fourth of the upper-deck aft. In the event of i-esistance by the 
officers at the latter point, the four nine pound guns on the forecastle 
were to be pointed aft, and to sweep the quarter-deck. With this 
view, a gunner's mate, who was a ringleader, had privately put into 
the guns charges of canister-shot. Some fire-arms had also been 
secretly obtained by a sergeant of marines, who belonged to the 
mutiny. 

On the night of the 1st of February, the execution of this plot 
was postponed until four o'clock of the afternoon of the 2d, instead 
of taking place at the hour of daylight, as had been previously ar- 
ranged. Captain Landais, who was exceedingly offensive to the 
conspirators, was to be put into a boat, without food, water, oars or 
sails, heavily ironed, and to be turned loose on the ocean. The gun- 
ner, carpenter, and boatswain were to have been killed on the spot. 
The marine officer and surgeon were to have been hanged, quartered, 
and their bodies cast into the sea. The sailing-master was to have 
been seized up to the mizen-mast, scarified, cut into morsels and 



96 NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 

thrown overboard. To each of the lieutenants was to have been 
offered the option of navigating the ship into the nearest British port, 
or of walking a plank. The passengers were to have been confined, 
and given up as prisoners, in England. With these fell intentions 
in their hearts, the conspirators fortunately decided to defer the exe- 
cution of their plot until the hour just named. 

Among the crew of the Alliance, was a seaman of more than usual 
knowledge of his calling, and of great decency of exterior. By his 
accent, this man, though regularly entered as a volunteer and an 
American, was supposed to be an Irishman-, and the mutineers were 
desirous of obtaining his assistance, under the impression that he 
might direct them, and take sufficient charge of the ship to prevent 
the lieutenants from deceiving them as to their position, should the 
latter consent to navigate her into England. To this person, then, 
in the course of the morning of the very day set for the execution 
of their murderous plan, the mutineers revealed their conspiracy, 
inviting him to take a conspicuous part in it. The seaman was in 
fact an American, who had lived a long time in Ireland, where he 
had acquired the accent of the nation, but where he had lost none 
of the feelings of country and kindred. Affecting to listen to the 
proposition with favour, he got most of their secrets out of the 
mutineers, using the utmost prudence and judgment in all his pro- 
ceedings. It was near three o'clock in the afternoon, before this 
new ringleader could manage to get into the cabin unseen, where he 
made Captain Landais and General Lafayette acquainted with all he 
knew. Not a moment was to be lost. The officers and other pas- 
sengers were apprised of what was going on, such men as could cer- 
tainly be relied on were put on their guard, and a few minutes before 
the time set for the signal to be given, the gentlemen rushed in a body 
on deck, Avith drawn swords, where the American and French sea- 
men joined them, armed. The leading mutineers were instantly 
seized. Between thirty and forty of the English were put in irons, 
it being thought impolitic to arrest any more, for at this inopportune 
moment a large vessel hove in sight, and Avas soon made out to be 
an enemy's twenty gun ship. 

As is usual in such cases, some of the ringleaders betrayed their 
companions, on a promise of pardon, Avhen all the previous arrange- 
ments Avere revealed. Believing the moment unfavourable to engage 
even an inferior force, Captain Landais, after a little manoeuvring 
permitted the ship in sight to escape. On the Cth of February, the 
Alliance arrived safely at Brest. 

This is the only instance that has ever transpired, of a plan to 
make a serious mutiny under the flag of the United States of Amer- 
ica.* A {"ew cases of momentary revolts have occurred, which 
principally arose from a defective mode of enlistment, and in all of 
which the authority of the officers have prevailed, after short and 
insignificant contests. It may be added, as a just source of national 
pride, that, in nearly every emergency, Avhether on hoard ships of 
war, or on board of merchant vessels, the native American has been 

* English prisoners who had enlisted in the uavy, were fi-equently troublesome, but 
no other direct mutiny 'was plotted. 






L^/tp-^C^/ 




1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. 97 

found true to the obligations of society; and it is a singular proof 
of his disposition to submit to legal authority, however oppressive or 
unjust may be its uperatiou iu his particular case, that in many known 
instances in which English seamen have revolted against their own 
officers, and in their own navy, the impressed and injured American 
has preferred order, and submission to even the implied oblit^ations 
of a compelled service, to rushing into the dangers of revolt and dis- 
obedience. In opposition to this respectable characteristic, may be 
put in high relief, the well ascertained fact, that when left in captur- 
ed vessels, or placed in situations where the usages of mankind tol- 
erate resistance, these very men have required as vigilant watchino- 
as any others ; it being probable that more American ships have 
been retaken from their prize crews by American seamen left on 
board them, within ths last sixty years, than have been retaken by 
the seamen of all the remaining captured vessels in Christendom. 
Quiet, prudent, observing, hardy, and bold, the American seaman is 
usually ready to listen to I'eason, and to defer to the right ; traits that 
make nim perhaps the most orderly and submissive of all mariners, 
when properly and legally commanded, and the most dangerous 
when an occasion arises for him to show hts prompitude, intelligence, 
and spirit. 

On reaching Brest, the mutineers were placed in a French gaol, 
and, after some delay, were exchanged as prisoners of war, without 
any other punishment ; the noble-minded Lafayette, in particular, 
feeling averse to treating foreigners as it would have been a duty to 
ti'eat natives under similar circumstances. 

We shall now revert to the more regular warfare of the period at 
which we have arrived. 

One of the tirst nautical engagements of the year 1779, occurred 
to the Hampden 23, a ship that sailed out of Massachusetts, thouo-h 
it is believed on private account. The Hampden was cruising in the 
Atlantic, lat. 47'^, long. 28^, when she made a strange sail to wind- 
ward. A small armed schooner was in company with the Hampden, 
and a signal was made by the latter, for the former to join. Nigbt 
coming on, however, the two vessels separated, when the Hampden 
stood towards the stranger alone. At daylight, theAmericanand tlie 
Englishman were a long gun-shot apart, when the former crowded 
sail, and at seven in the morning, drawing up under the lee quarter 
of the chase, gave him a broadside. Until this moment, the stranofer 
had kept all his guns housed, but he now showed thirteen of a side, 
and delivered his fire. It was soon perceived on board the Hamp- 
den that they were engaged Avith a ship of a force altogether superior 
to their own. Still, hoping that she might be badly manned, and 
receiving no material damage at the commencement of the fight, the 
commander of the Hampden determined to continue the action. A 
hot engagement followed, which lasted three hours, within pistol-shot, 
when the Hampden was compelled to haul off*, being in momentary 
danger of losing her masts. The American lost a Captain Pickering 
killed, — but whether he was a marine officer, or her commander, 
does not appear, — and had twenty men killed and wounded. The 

VOL. I. 7 



NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 



enemy, an Indiaman was much injured also, though her loss was 
never ascertained. This was one of the most closely contested ac- 
tions of the war, both sides appearing to have fought with persever- 
ance and gallantry. 

On the'lSth of April, the U. S. ships Warren 32, Captain J. B. 
Hopkins, Queen of France 28, Captain Olney, and Ranger 18, Cap- 
tain Simpson, sailed from Boston, in company, on a cruise ; Captain 
Hopkins being the senior officer. When a few days from port, these 
vessels captured a British privateer of 14 guns, from the people of 
which they ascertained that a small fleet of armed transports and 
store-ships had just sailed from Ncav York, bound to Georgia, with 
supplies for the enemy's forces in that quarter. The three cruisers 
crowded sail in chase, and off Cape Henry, late in the day, they had 
the good fortune to come up with nine sail, seven of which they 
captured, with a trifling resistance. Favoured by the darkness, the 
two others escaped. The vessels taken proved to be, his Britannic 
Majesty's ship Jason, 20, with a crew of 150 men ; the Maria ai"med 
ship, of 16 guns, and 84 men ; and the privateer schooner Hibernia, 
8, with a crew of 45 men. The Maria had a full cargo of flour. 
In addition to these vessels, the brigs Patriot, Prince Frederick, 
Bachelor John, and the schooner Chance, all laden with stores, 
fell into the hands of the Americans. Among the prisoners were 
twenty-four British officers, who were on their way to join their regi- 
ments at the south.* 

The command of the Queen of France was now given to Captain 
Rathburne, when that ship sailed on another cruise, in company with 
the Ranger, and the Providence 28, Captain Whipple ; the latter 
being the senior officer. In July, this squadron fell in with a large 
fleet of English merchantmen, that was convoyed by a ship of the 
line, and some smaller cruisers, and succeeded in cutting out several 
valuable prizes, of which eight arrived at Boston, their estimated 
value exceeding a million of dollars. In the way of pecuniary 
benefits, this was the most successful cruise made in the war. 

Owing to the want of ships in the navy. Captain Manly was com- 
pelled to seek service in a privateer called the Cumberland. In this 
vessel he was captured by tlie Pomona frigate, and, obtaining his 
exchange, he went on a cruise in the Jason private armed ship, in 
which vessel, in July of the present year, he was attacked by two of 
the enemy's privateers, one of 18, and the other of 16 guns, when 
running boldly between them, the Jason poured in her fire, larboard 
and starboard, with so much eflect, that both surrendered. 

Quitting the American seas, we will once more i*eturn to the other 
hemisphere. 

Paul Jones had obtained so much celebrity for his cruise in the 
Ranger, that he remained in France, after the departure of his ship 
for America, in the hope of receiving a more important command, 
the inducement, indeed, which had originally brought lam to Europe. 

* A Colonel Campbell was the highest in rank, and if this were the officer of the same 
name and rank taken off Boston, in 1776, he was twice made a prisoner on board trans- 
ports, during this war. 



1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. 99 

Many different projects to this effect had been entertained and aban- 
doned, during the years 1778 and 1779, by one of which a descent 
was to have been made on Liverpool, with a body of troops com- 
manded by Lafayette. All these plans, however, produced no 
results, and after many vexatious repulses in his applications for 
service, an arrangement was finally made to give this celebrated offi- 
cer employment that was as singular in its outlines, as it proved to 
be inconvenient, not to say impracticable, in execution. 

By a letter from M. de Sartine, the minister of the marine, dated 
February 4th, 1779, it appears that the King of France had con- 
sented to purchase and put at the disposition of Captain Jones, the 
Duras, an old Indiaraan of some size, then lying at I'Orient. To 
this vessel were added three more that were procured by means of 
M. le Ray de Chaumont, a banker of eminence connected with the 
court, and who acted on the occasion, under the orders of the French 
ministry. Dr. Franklin, Avho, as minister of the United States, was 
supposed, in a legal sense, to direct the whole affair, added the Alli- 
ance, 32, in virtue of the authority that he held from Congress. The 
vessels that were thus chosen, formed a little squadron, composed of 
the Duras, Alliance, Pallas, Cerf, and Vengeance. The Pallas was 
a merchantman bought for the occasion ; the Vengeance a small 
brig that had also been purchased expressly for the expedition ; the 
Cerf was a fine large cutter, and, with the exception of the Alliance, 
the only vessel of the squadron fitted for war. All the ships but the 
Alliance were French built, and they were placed under the Ameri» 
can flag, by the following arrangement. 

The officers received appointments, which were to remain valid 
for a limited period only, from Dr. Franklin, who had held blank 
commissions to be filled up at his own discretion, ever siuce his arri- 
val in Europe, while the vessels were to show the American ensign, 
and no other. In short, the French ships were to be considered as 
American ships, during this particular service, and when it was 
terminated, they were to revert to their former owners. The laws 
and provisions of the American navy were to govern, and command 
was to be exercised, and to descend, agreeably to its usages. Such 
officers as already had rank in the American service, were to take 
precedence of course, agreeably to the dates of their respective com- 
missions, while the new appointments were to be regulated by the 
new dates. By an especial provision. Captain Jones was to be com- 
mander-in-chief, a post he would have been entitled to fill by his 
original commission, however, Captain Landais of the Alliance, the 
only other regular captain in the squadron, being his junior. The 
joint right of the American minister and of the French government, 
to instruct the commodore, and to direct the movements of the squad- 
ron, was also recognised. 

From what source the money was actually obtained by which this 
squadron was fitted out, is not exactly known, nor is it now probable 
that it will ever be accurately ascertained. Although the name of 
the king was used, it is not impossible that private adventure was at 
the bottom of the enterprise, though it seems certain that the govern- 
ment was so far concerned as to procure the vessels, and to a certain 



100 NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 

extent to use its stores. Dr. Franklin expressly states, that he made 
no advances for any of the ships employed. 

As every thing connected with this remai'kable enterprise has 
interest, we shall endeavour to give the reader a better idea of the 
materials, physical and moral, that composed the force of Commo- 
dore Jones, in his memorable cruise. ' 

After many vexatious delays, the Duras, her name having beeft 
changed to that of the Bon Homme Richard, in compliment to Dr. 
Franklin, was eventually equipped and manned. Directions had 
been given to cast the proper number of eighteen-pounders for her, 
but, it being ascertained that there would not be time to complete 
this order, some old twelves were procured in their places. With 
this material change in the armament, the Richard, as she was 
familiarly called by the seamen, got ready for sea. She was, prop- 
erly, a single-decked ship ; or carried her armament on one gun- 
deck, with the usual additions on the quarter-deck and forecastle ; 
but Commodore Jones, with a view of attacking some of the larger 
convoys of the enemy, caused twelve ports to be cut in the gun-room 
below, where six old eighteen-pounders were mounted, it being the 
intention to fight all the guns on one side, in smooth water. The 
height of the ship admitted of this arrangement, though it was fore- 
seen that these guns could not be of much use, except in very mod- 
erate weather, or when engaging to leeward. On her main, or prop- 
er gun-deck, the ship had twenty-eight ports, the regular construc- 
tion of an English 38, agreeably to the old mode of rating. Here the 
twelve-pounders were placed. On the quarter-deck and forecastle, 
were mounted eight nines, making in all a mixed and rather light 
armament of 42 guns. If the six eighteens were taken away, the 
force of the Bon Homme Richard, so far as her guns were con- 
cerned, would have been about equal to that of a 32 gun frigate. 
The vessel was clumsily constructed, having been built many years 
before, and had one of those high old-fashioned poops, that caused 
the sterns of the ships launched in the early part of the eighteenth 
century to resemble towers. 

To manage a vessel of this singular armament and doubtful con- 
struction. Commodore Jones was compelled to receive on board a 
crew of a still more equivocal composition. A few Americans were 
found to fill the stations of sea officers, on the quarter-deck and 
forward, but the remainder of the people were a mixiiure of English, 
Irish, Scotch, Portuguese, Norwegians, Germans, Spaniards Swedes, 
Italians and Malays, with occasionally a man from one of the islands. 
'I'o keep this motley crew in order, one lumdred and thirty-five 
soldiers were put on board, under the command of some officers of 
inferior rank. These soldiers, or marines, were recruited at random, 
and were not much less singularly mixed, as to countries, than the 
regular crew. 

/\s the squadron was about to sail, M. Le Ray appeared at 
rOrieut, and presented an agreement, or concordat as it was termed, 
for the signature of all the commanders. To this singular compact, 
which, in some respects, reduced a naval expedition to the level of a 



1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. 101 

partnership, Commodore Jones ascribed much of the disobedience 
among; his captains, of which he subsequently complained. It will 
be found in the appendix.* 

On the 19th of June 1779, the ships sailed from the anchorage 
under the Isle of Groix, off I'Orient, bound to the southward, with a 
few transports and coasters under their convoy. The transports and 
coasters were seen into their several places of destination, in the 
Garonne, Loire, and other ports, but not without the commencement 
of that course of disobedience of orders, unseamanlike conduct, and 
neglect, whicii so signally marked the whole career of this ill as- 
sorted force. While lyins; to, off the coast, the Alliance, by palpable 
mismanagement, got tbul of the Richard, and lost her mizenmast; 
carrying away, at the same time, the head, cut-water, and jib-boom 
of the latter. It now became necessary to return to port to refit. 

While steering northerly again, the Cerf cutter was sent in chase 
of a strange sail, and parted company. The next moi'ning sheen- 
gaged a small English cruiser of 14 guns, and after a sharp conflict 
of more than an hour, obliged her to strike, but was compelled to 
abandon her prize in consequence of the appearance of a vessel of 
superior force. The Cerf, with a loss of several men killed and 
wounded, made the best of her way to I'Orient. 

On the 22d, three enemy's vessels of war came in sight of the 
squadron, and, having the wind, they ran down in a line abreast, 
when most probably deceived by the height and general appearance 
of the Richard, they hauled up, and, by carrying a press of sail, 
escaped. 

On the 26th, the Alliance and Pallas parted company with the 
Richard, leaving that ship with no other consort than the Vengeance 
brig. On reaching the Penmarks, the designated rendezvous, the 
missing vessels did not appear. On the 29th, the Vengeance having 
made the best of her way for the roads of Groix by permission, the 
Richard fell in with two more of the enemy's cruisers, which, after 
some indications of an intention to come down, also ran, no doubt 
under the impression that the American frigate was a ship of two 
decks. On this occasion Commodore Jones expressed himself satis- 
fied with the spirit of his crew, the people manifesting a strong wish 
to engage. On the last of the month, the Richard returned to the 
roads from which she had sailed, and anchored. The Alliance and 
Pallas came in also. 

Another delay occurred. A court was convened to inquire into 
the conduct of Captain Landais of the Alliance, and of other officers, 
in running foul of the Richard, and both ships underwent repairs. 
Luckily a cartel arrived from England, at this moment, bringing 
with her more than a hundred exchanged American seamen, most 
of whom joined the squadron. This proved to be a great and im- 
portant accession to the composition of the crew of not only the 
Richard, hut to that of the Alliance, the latter ship having been but 
little better off than tlie former in this particular. Among those who 
came fi^-om the English prisons, was Mr. Richard Dale, who had been 

* See note A, end of volume. 



102 NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 

taken as a master's mate, in the Lexington 14. This young officer 
did not reach France in the cartel, however, but had previously 
escaped from Mill prison and joined the Richard. Commodore 
Jones had now become sensible of his merit, and in reorganising his 
crew, he had him promoted, and rated him as his first lieutenant. 
The Richard had now nearly a hundred Americans in her, and, with 
the exception of the commodore himself and one midshipman, all 
her quarter-deck sea-officers were of the number. Many of the petty 
officers too, were of this class. In a letter written August the 11th, 
Commodore Jones states that the crew of the Richard consisted of 
380 souls, including 137 marines, or soldiers. 

On the 14th of August, 1779, the squadron sailed a second time 
from the i-oads of Groix, having the French privateers Monsieur and 
Granville in company, and under' the orders of Commodore Jones. 
On the 18th a valuable prize was taken, and some difficulties ai'ising 
with the commander of the Monsieur in consequence, the latter parted 
company in the night of the 19th. This was a serious loss in the way 
of force, that ship having mounted no less than forty guns. A ])rize 
was also taken on the 21st. On the 23d, the ships were off Cape 
Clear, and, while towing the Richard's head round in a calm, the 
crew of a boat manned by Englishmen, cut the tow-line, and escaped. 
Mr. Cutting Lunt, the sailing-master of the ship, manned another 
boat, and taking with him four soldiers, he pursued tne fugitives. 
A fog coming on, the latter boat was not able to find the ships again, 
and her people fell into the hands of the enemy. Through this 
desertion and its immediate consequences, the Richard lost twenty 
of her best men. 

The day after the escape of the boat, the Cerfwas sent close in to 
reconnoitre, and to look for the missing people, and owing to some 
circumstance that has never been explained, but which does not ap- 
pear to have left any reproach upon her commander, this vessel never 
I'ejoined the squadron. 

A gale of wind followed, during which the Alliance and Pallas 
separated, and the Granville parted company with a prize, according 
to orders. The separation of the Pallas is exi)lained by the fact that 
she had broken her tiller; but that of the Alliance can only be im- 
puted to the unofficerlike, as well as unseamanlike, conduct of her 
commander. On the morning of the 27th, the brig Vengeance was 
the only vessel in company with the commodore. 

On the morning of the 31st of August, the Bon Homme Richard, 
being off Cape Wrath, captured a large letter of marque bound from 
London to Quebec, a circumstance that proves the expedients to 
which the English ship-masters were then driven to avoid capture, 
this vessel having actually gone north-about to escape the cruisers 
on the ordinary track. While in chase of the letter of marque, the 
Alliance hove in sight, having another London ship, a Jamaica-man, 
in company as a j)rize. 

Captain Landais, of the Alliance, an officer, who, as it has since 
been ascertained, had been obliged to quit the French navy on ac- 
count of a singularly unfortunate temper, now began to exhibit a 



1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. 103 

disorgani-siiig and mutinous spirit, pretending, as his ship was the 
only real An:ierican vessel in the squadron, that he was superior to 
the orders of the commodore, and that he would do as he pleased with 
that frigate. 

In the afternoon a strange sail was made, and the Richard showed 
the Alliance's number, with an order to chase. Instead of obeying 
this signal, Captain Landais wore and laid the head of his ship in a 
direction opposite to that necessary to execute the order! Several 
other signals were disobeyed in an equally contemptuous manner, 
and the control of Commodore Jones over the movements of this ship, 
which, on the whole, ought to have been the most efficient in the 
squadron, may be said to have ceased. 

Commodore Jones now shaped his course for the second rendez- 
vous he had appointed, in the hope of meeting the missing ships. On 
the 2d of September, the Pallas rejoined, having captured nothing. 
Between this date and the 13th of September, the squadron continued 
its course round Scotland, the ships separating and rejoining con- 
stantly, and Captain Landais assuming powers over the prizes, as 
well as over his own vessel, that were altogether opposed to disci- 
pline, and to the usages of every regular marine. On the last day 
named, the Cheviot Hills were visible. 

Understanding that a twenty gun ship with two or three man-of- 
war cutters were lying at anchor off Leith, in the Frith of Forth, 
Commodore Jones now planned a descent on that town. At this 
time the Alliance was absent, and the Pallas and Vengeance having 
chased to the southward, the necessity of communicating with those 
vessels produced a delay fatal to a project which had been admirably 
conceived, and which there is reason to think might have succeeded. 
After joining his two subordinates, and giving liis orders. Com- 
modore Jones beat into the Frith, and continued working up towards 
Leith, until the 17th, when, being just out of gun-shot of the town, 
the boats were got out and manned. The troops to be landed were 
commanded by M. de Chamilliard, while Mr. Dale, of the Richard, 
was put at the head of the seamen. The latter had received his 
orders, and was just about to go into his boat, when a squall struck 
the ships, and was near dismasting the commodore. Finding him- 
self obliged to fdl his sails. Commodore Jones endeavoured to keep 
the ground he had gained, but the weight of the wind finally com- 
pelled all the vessels to iiear up, and a severe gale succeeding, they 
were driven into the North sea, where one of the prizes foundered. 

It is not easy to say ^yhat would have been the result of this dash- 
ing enterprise, had the weather permitted the attempt. The audacity 
of the measure might have insured a victory; and in the whole 
design we discover the decision, high moral courage, and deep 
enthusiasm of the officer who conceived it. It was the o])inion of 
Mr. Dale, a man of singular modesty, great simplicity of character, 
and prudence, that success would have rewarded the effort. 

Abandoning this bold project with reluctance. Commodore Jones 
appeared to have meditated another still more daring; but his co?- 
Icagues, as he bitterly styles his captains in one of his letters, refused 



104 NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 

to join in it. It is worthy of remark, that when Commodore Jones 
laid this second scheme, wliich has never been explained, before the 
young sea-officers of his own ship, they announced their readiness as 
one man to second him, heart and hand. The enterprise was 
dropped, however, in consequence of the objections of Captain Cot- 
tineau, of the Pallas, in particular, an officer for whose judgment the 
commodore appears to have entertained much respect. 

The Pallas and Vengeance even left the Richard, probably with 
a view to prevent the attempt to execute this nameless scheme, and 
the commodore was compelled to follow his captains to the south- 
ward, or to lose them altogether. Oft' Whitby the ships last named 
joined again, and on the 21st the Richard chased a collier ashore 
between Flamborough Head and the Spurn. The next day the 
Richard appeared in the mouth of the Humber, Avith the Vengeance 
in company, and several vessels were taken or destroyed. Pilots 
were enticed on board, and a knowledge of the state of things in-shore 
was obtained. It appeared that the v/hole coast was alarmed, and 
that many persons were actually burying their plate. Some twelve 
or thirteen vessels in all had now been taken by the squadron, and 
quite as many more destroyed; and coupling these facts with the 
appearance of the ships on the coast and in the Frith, rumour had 
swelled the whole into one of its usual terrific talcs. Perhaps no 
vessels of war had ever before excited so much local alarm on the 
coast of Great Britain. 

Under the circumstances. Commodore Jones did not think it 
prudent to remain so close in with the land, and he stood out towards 
Flamborough Head. Here two large sails were made, which next 
day proved to be the Alliance and the Pallas. This was on tlie 23d 
of September, and brings us down to the most memorable event in 
this extraordinary cruise. 

The wind was light at the southward, the weather smooth, and 
many vessels were in sight steering in different directions. About 
noon, his original squadron, with the exception of the Cerf and the 
two privateers, being all in company. Commodore Jones manned one 
of the pilot boats he had detained, and sent her in chase of a brig 
that was lying to, to windward. On board this little vessel were put 
Mr. Henry Lunt, the second lieutenant, and fifteen men, all of whom 
were out of the ship for the rest of the day. In consequence of the 
loss of the two boats off" Cape Clear, the absence of this party in the 
pilot boat, and the number of men that had been put in prizes, the 
Richard Avas now left with only one sea-lieutenant, and Avitli but little 
more than three hundred souls on board, exclusively of the prisoners. 
Of the latter, there were between one and two hundred in tlie ship. 

The pilot boat had hardly left the Bon Homme Richard, when the 
leading ships of a fleet of more tlian forty sail were seen stretching 
out on a bowline, from behind Flamborough Head, tui-ning down 
towards the Straits of Dover. From previous intelligence tliis fleet 
was immediately known to contain tlie Baltic ships, under the con- 
voy of the Serapis 44, Captain Richard Pearson, and a lured ship 
that had been put into the King's service, called the Countess of 



1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. 105 

Scarborough. The latter was commanded by Captain Piercy, and 
mounted 22 guns. As the interest of the succeeding details will 
chiefly centre in the Serapis and the Richard, it may be well to give 
a more minute account of the actual force of the former. 

At the period of which we are now writing, forty-fours were usually 
built on two decks. Such, then, was the construction of this ship, 
which was new, and had the reputation of being a fast vessel. On 
her lower gun-deck she mounted 20 eighteen-pound guns : on her 
upper gun-deck, 20 nine-pound guns; and on her quarter-deck and 
forecastle, 10 six-pound guns ; making an armament of 50 guns in 
the whole. She had a regularly trained man-of-war's crew of 320 
souls, 15 of whom, however, were said to have been Lascars. 

When the squadron made this convoy, the men-of-war were in- 
shore astern, and to leeward, probably with a view to keep the mer- 
chantmen together. The bailiffs of Scarborough, perceiving the 
danger into which this little fleet was running, had sent a boat ofi^ 
to the Serapis to apprise her of the presence of a hostile force, and 
Captain Pearson fired two guns, signalling the leading vessels to 
come under his lee. These orders were disregarded, however, 
the headmost ships standing out until they were about a league from 
the land. 

Commodore Jones having ascertained the character of the fleet in 
sight, showed a signal for a general chase, another to recall the 
lieutenant in the pilot boat, and crossed royal yards on board the 
Richard. These signs of hostility alarmed the nearest English ships, 
which hurriedly tacked together, fired alarm guns, let fly their top- 
gallant sheets, and made other signals of the danger they were in, 
while they now gladly availed themselves of the presence of the 
vessels of war, to run to leeward, or sought shelter closer in with the 
land. The Serapis, on the contrary, signalled the Scarborough to 
follow, and hauled boldly out to sea, until she had got far enough 
to windward, when she tacked and stood in-shore again, to cover 
her convoy. 

The Alliance being much the fastest vessel of the American squad- 
ron, took the lead in the chase, speakincf the Pallas as she passed. 
It has been proved that Captain Landais told the commander of the 
latter vessel on this occasion, that if the stranger proved to be a fifty, 
they had nothing to do but to endeavour to escape. His subsequent 
conduct fully confirmed this opinion, for no sooner had he run down 
near enough to the two English vessels of war, to ascertain their 
force, than he hauled up, and stood off" from the land as^ain. All 
this was not only contrary to the regular order of battle, but contrary 
to the positive command of Commodore Jones, who had kept the 
signal to form a line abroad, which should have brought the Alliance 
astern of the Richard, and the Pallas in the van. Just at this time, 
the Pallas spoke the Richard and inquired what station she should 
take, and was also directed to form the line. But the extraordinary 
movements of Captain Landais appear to have produced some inde- 
cision in the commander of the Pallas, as he too, soon after tacked 
and stood off" from the land. Captain Cottineau, however, was a 



106 NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 

brave man, and subsequently did his duty in the action, and this 
manoeuvre has been expUiined by the Richard's hauhng up suddeidy 
for the land, which induced him to think that her crew had mutinied 
and were running away with the ship. Such was the want of con- 
fidence that prevailed in a force so singularly composed, and such 
were the disadvantages under which this celebrated combat was 
fought ! 

So far, however, from meditating retreat or mutiny, the people of 
the Bon Homme Richard had gone cheerfully to their quarters, al- 
though every man on board was conscious of the superiority of the 
force with which they were about to contend ; and the high uncon- 
querable spirit of the commander appears to have communicated 
itself to the crew. 

It was now quite dark, and Commodore Jones was compelled to 
follow the movements of the enemy by the aid of a night-glass. It 
is probable that the obscurity which prevailed added to tiie indecision 
of the commander of the Pallas, for from this time until the moon 
rose, objects at a distance were distinguished with difficulty, and even 
after the moon appeared, with uncertainty. The Richard, however, 
stood steadily on, and about half past seven, she came up with the 
Serapis, the Scarborough being a short distance to leeward. The 
American ship was to windward, and as she drew slowly near, Cap- 
tain Pearson hailed. The answer was equivocal, and both ships de- 
livered their entire broadsides nearly simultaneously. The water 
being quite smooth, Commodore Jones had relied materially on the 
eio-htcens that were in the gun-room ; but at this discharge two of 
the six that were fired bursted, blowing up the deck above, and kill- 
ing or wounding a large proportion of the people that were stationed 
below. This disaster caused all the lieavy guns to be instantly de- 
serted, for the men had no longer confidence in their metaL It at 
once, reduced the broadside of the Richard to about a third less than 
that of her opponent, not to include the disadvantage of the manner 
in which the force that remained was distributed among light guns. 
In short, the combat was now between a twelve-pounder and an 
eighteen pounder frigate ; a species of contest in which, it has been 
said, we know not with what truth, the former has never been known 
to prevail. Commodore Jones informs us himself, that all his hopes, 
after this accident, rested on the twelve-pounders that were under the 
command of his first lieutenant. 

The Richard, having backed her topsails, exchanged several 
broadsides, when she filled again and shot ahead of the Serapis, 
which ship luffed across her stern and came up on the weather quar- 
ter of her antagonist, taking the wind out of her sails, and, in her 
turn, passing ahead. All this time, which consumed half an hour, 
the cannonading was close and furious. The Scarborough now 
drew near, but it is uncertain Avhethcr she fired or not. On the side 
of the Americans it is affirmed that she raked the Richard at least 
once ; but, by the report of her own commander, it would appear 
that, on account of the obscurity and the smoke, he was afrai I to 
discharge his guns, not knowing which ship might be the friend or 



1779. J NAVAL HISTORY. 107 

which the foe. Unwilling to he by, and to be exposed to shot use- 
lessly, Captain Piercy edged away from the combatants, exchanging 
a broadside or two, at a great distance, with the Alliance, and shortly 
afterwards was engaged at close quaiters by the Pallas, which ship 
compelled him to strike, after a creditable resistance of about an hour. 

Having disposed of the inferior ships, we can confine ourselves to 
the principal combatants. As the Serapis kept her luft', sailing and 
working better than the Richard, it was the intention of Captain 
Pearson to pay broad off across the latter's fore-foot, as soon as he 
had got far enough ahead ; but making the attempt, and finding he 
had not room, he put his helm hard down to keep clear of his ad- 
versary, when the double movement brought the two ships nearly in 
a line, the Serapis leading. By these uncertain evolutions, the Eng- 
lish ship lost some of her way, while the American, having kept her 
sails trimmed, not only closed, but actually ran aboard of her antag- 
onist, bows on, a little on her weather quarter. The wind being 
light, much time was consumed in these different manoeuvres, and 
near an hour had elapsed between the tiring of the first guns, and the 
moment when the vessels got foul of each other in the manner just 
described. 

The English now thought that it was the intention of the Ameri- 
cans to board them, and a few minutes passed in the uncertainty 
which such an expectation would create ; but the positions of the 
vessels were not favourable for either party to pass into the opposing 
ship. There being at this moment a perfect cessation of the firing, 
Captain Pearson demanded, " Have you struck your colours V 
" I have not yet begun to fight," was the answer. 

The yards of the Richard were braced aback, and, the sails of the 
Serapis being full, the ships separated. As soon as far enough 
asunder, the Serapis put her helm hard down, laid all aback forward, 
shivered her after-sails, and wore short round on her heel, or was 
box-hauled, with a view, most probably, of luffing up athwart the 
bow of her enemy, in order to again rake her. In this position 
the Richard would have been fighting her starboard, and the 
Serapis her larboard guns ; but Commodore Jones, by this time, was 
conscious of the hopelessness of success against so much heavier 
metal, and after having backed astern some distance, he filled on the 
other tack, luffing up with the intention of meeting the enemy as he 
came to the wind, and of laying him athwart hawse. In the smoke, 
one pai-ty or the other miscalculated the distance, for-the two vessels 
came foul again, the bowsprit of the English ship passing over the 
poop of the American. As neither had much way, the collision did 
but little injury, and Commodore Jones, with his own hands, imme- 
diately lashed the enemy's head-gear to his mizen-mast. The pres- 
sure on the after sails of the Serapis, which vessel was nearly before 
the wind at the time, brought her hull round, and the two ships 
gradually fell close alongside of each other, head and stern, the jib' 
boom of the Serapis giving way with the strain. A spare anchor 
of the English ship now hooked in the quarter of the American, and 



108 NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 

additional lashings were got out on board the latter to secure her in 
this position. 

Captain Pearson, who was as much aware of his advantage in a 
regular combat as his opponent could be of his own inferiority, no 
sooner pereceived that the vessels wei'e foul, than he dropped an an- 
chor, in the hope that the Richard would drift clear of him. But 
such an expectation was perfectly futile, as the yards were interlock- 
ed, the hulls were pressed close against each other, there were lash- 
ings fore and aft, and even the ornamental work aided in holding the 
ships togethei". When the cable of the Serapis took the strain, the 
vessels slowly tended, with the bows of the Serapis and the stern of 
the Richard to the tide. At this instant the English made an attempt 
to board, but were repulsed with trifling loss. 

All this time the battle raged. The lower ports of the Serapis 
having been closed, as the vessel swung, to prevent boarding, they 
were now blown off, in order to allow the guns to be run out ; and 
cases actually occurred in which the rammers had to be thrust into 
the ports of the opposite ship in order to be entered into the muzzles 
of their proper guns. It is evident that such a conflict must have 
been of short duration. In eflect, the heavy metal of the Serapis, in 
one or two discharges, cleared all before it, and the main-deck guns 
of the Richard were in a great measure abandoned. Most of the 
people went on the upper-deck, and a great number collected on the 
forecastle, where they were safe from the fire of the enemy, continu- 
ing to fight by thi'owing grenades and using muskets. 

In this stage of the combat, the Serapis was tearing her antago- 
nist to pieces below, almost without resistance from her enemy's 
batteries, only two guns on the quarter-deck, and three or four of 
the twelves, being worked at all. To the former, by shifting a gun 
from the larboard side. Commodore Jones succeeded in adding a 
third, all of which wciie used with eflTect, under his immediate inspec- 
tion, to the close of the action. He could not muster force enough 
to get over a second gun. But the combat would now have soon 
terminated, had it not been for the courage and activity of the people 
aloft. Strong parties had been placed in the tops, and, at the end of 
a short contest, the Americans had driven every man belonging to the 
enemy below ; after which they kej^rt up so animated a fire, on the 
quarter-deck of the Serapis in particular, as to drive nearly every 
man off" it, that was not shot down. 

Thus, while the English had the battle nearly to themselves be- 
low, their enemies had the control above the upper-deck. Having 
cleared the tops of the Serapis, some American seamen lay out on 
the Richard's main-yard, and began to throw hand-grenades upjon 
the two upper decks of the English ship ; the men of the forecastle 
of their own vessel seconding these eftbrts, by casting the same com- 
bustibles through the ports of the Serapis. At length one man, in 
particular, became so hardy as to take his post on the extreme end 
of the yard, whence, provided with a bucket filled with combustibles, 
and a match, he dropped the grenades with so much precision that 
one passed through the main-hatchway. The powder-boys of the 



1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. 109 



Serapis had got more cartridges up than were warned, and, in their 
hurry, they had carelessly laid a row of them on the main-deck, in 
aline with the guns. The grenade just mentioned set fire to some 
loose powder that was lying near, and the flash passed from cartrido-e 
to cartridge, beginning abreast of the main-mast, and running 
quite aft. 

The effect of this explosion was awful. More than twenty men 
were instantly killed, many of them being left with nothing on them 
but the collars and wristbands of their shirts, and the waistbands of 
their duck trowsers ; while the oflicial retvu'ns of the ship, a week 
after the action, show that there were no less than thirty-eicht 
wounded on board, still alive, who had been injured in this manner, 
and of whom thirty were then said to be in great danger. Captain 
Pearson described this explosion as having destroyed nearly all the 
men at the five or six aftermost guns. On the whole, near sixty of 
the Serapis' people must have been instantly disabled by this sudden 
blow. 

The advantage thus obtained, by the coolness and intrepidity of 
the topman, in a great measure restored the chances of the combat, 
and, by lessening the fire of the enemy, enabled Commodore Jones 
to increase his. In the same degree that it encouraged the crew of the 
Richard, it diminished the hopes of the people of tlie Serapis. One 
of the guns under the immediate inspection of Commodore Jones 
had been pointed some time against the main-mast of his enem3\ 
while the two others had seconded the fire of the tops, with grape and 
canister. Kept below decks by this double attack, where a scene of 
fi-ightful horror was present in the agonies of the wounded, and the 
effects of the explosion, the spirits of the English began to di-oop, and 
there was a moment when a trifle Avould have induced them to sub- 
mit. From this despondency they were temporarily raised, by one 
of those unlooked for events that characterise the vicisitudes of battle. 

After exchanging the ineffective and distant broadsides, already 
mentioned, with the Scarborough, the Alliance had kept standing 
off and on, to leev/ard of the two principal ships, out of the direction 
of their shot, when, about half past eight she appeared crossing the 
stern of the Serapis and the bow of the Richard, firing at such a dis- 
tance as to render it impossible to say which vessel would suffer the 
most. As soon as she had drawn out of the range of her own guns, 
her helm was put up, and she ran down near a mile to leeward, 
hovering about, until the firing had ceased between the Pallas and 
the Scarborough, when she came within hail and spoke both of these 
vessels. Captain Cottineau of the Pallas earnestly entreated Cap- 
tain Landais to take possession of his prize, and allow him to jj^o to 
the assistance of the Richard, or to stretch up to windward in the 
Alliance himself, and succour the commodore. 

After some delay. Captain Landais took the important duty of 
assisting his consort, into his own hands, and making two long 
stretches, under his topsails, he appeared, about the time at which 
we have arrived in the narration of the combat, directly to windward 
of the two ships, with the head of the Alliance to the westward 



110 NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 

Here the latter ship once more opened her fire, doing equal damage, 
at least, to friend and foe. Keeping away a little, and still continu- 
ing her fire, the Alliance was soon on the larboard quarter of the 
Richard, and, it is even affirmed, that her guns were discharged until 
she had got nearly abeam. 

Fifty voices now hailed to tell the people of the Alliance that they 
were firing iiato the wrong ship, and three lanterns were shown, in a 
line, on the off side of the Richard, which was the regular signal of 
recognition for a night action. An officer was directed to hail, and 
to command Captain Landais to lay the enemy aboard, and the ques- 
tion being put whether the order was comprehended, an answer was 
given in the affirmative. 

As the moon had been up some time, it was impossible not to dis- 
tinguish between the vessels, the Richard being all black, while the 
Serapis had yellow sides, and tlie impression seems to have been 
general in the former vessel, that she had been attacked intentionally. 
At the discharge of the first guns of the Alliance, the people left one 
or two of the twelves on board the Richard, which they had begun to 
fight again, saying that the Englishmen in the Alliance had got 
possession of the ship, and were helping the enemy. It appears that 
this discharge dismounted a gun or two, extinguished several lan- 
terns on the main deck, and did a great deal of damage aloft. 

The Alliance hauled off to some distance, keeping always on the 
off side of the Richard, and soon after she reappeared edging down 
on the larboard beam of her consort, hauling up athwart the bows 
of that ship and the stern of her antagonist. On this occasion, it is 
affirmed that her fire recommenced, when, by possibility, the shot 
could only reach the Serapis through the Richard. Ten or twelve 
men appear to have been killed and wounded on the forecastle of the 
latter ship, which was crowded at the time, and among them was an 
officer of the name of Caswell, who, with his dying breath, maintain- 
ed that he had received his wound by the fire of the friendly vessel. 

After crossing the bows of the Richard, and the stern of the Ser- 
apis, delivering grape as she passed, the Alliance ran off to leeward, 
again standing off and on, doing nothing, for the remainder of the 
combat. 

The fire of the Alliance added greatly to the leaks of the Richard, 
which ship, by this time, had received so much water through the 
shot-holes, as to begin to settle. It is even affirmed by many wit- 
nesses, that the most dangerous shot-holes onboard the Richard, 
were under her larboard bow, and larboard counter, in places where 
they could not have been received from the fire of the Serapis. This 
evidence, however, is not unanswerable, as it has been seen that the 
Serapis luffed up on the larboard-quarter of the Richard in the com- 
menced of the action, and, forging ahead, was subsequently on her 
larboard bow, endeavouring to cross her fore-foot. It is certainly pos- 
sible that shot may have struck the Richard in the places mentioned, 
on these occasions, and that, as the ship settled in the water, from 
other leaks, the holes then made may have suddenly increased the 
danger. On the other hand, if the Alliance did actually fire while 



1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. , HI 



on the bow and quarter of the Richard, as appears by a mass of un- 
contradicted testimony, the dangerous shot-holes may very well have 
come from that ship. 

Let the injuries have been received from what quarter they might, 
soon after the Alliance had run to leeward, an alarm was spread in 
the Richard that the ship was sinking. Both vessels had been on 
fire several times, and some difficulty had been experienced in ex- 
tinguishing the flames, but here was a new enemy to contend with, 
and, as the information came from the carpenter, Avhose duty it was 
to sound the pump-wells, it produced a good deal of consternation. 
The Richard had more than a hundred English prisoners on board, 
and the master-at-arms, in the hurry of the moment, let them all up 
from below, in order to save their lives. In the confusion of such a 
scene at night, the master of the letter of marque, that had been taken 
off" the north of Scotland, passed through a port of the Richard into 
one of the Serapis, when he reported to Captain Pearson, that a few 
minutes would probably decide the battle in his favour, or carry his 
enemy down, he himself having been liberated in order to save his 
life. Just at this instant the gunner, who had little to occupy him at 
his quarters, came on deck, and not perceiving Commodore Jones, 
or Mr. Dale, both of whom were occupied with the liberated prison- 
ers, and believing the master, the only other superior he had in the 
ship, to be dead, he ran up on the poop to haul down the colours. 
Fortunately the flag-stafli" had been shot away, and, the ensign already 
hanging in the water, he had no other means of letting his intention 
to submit be known, than by calling out for quarter. Captain Pear- 
son now hailed to inquire if the Richard demanded quarter, and was 
answered by Commodore Jones himself, in the negative. It is proba- 
ble that the reply was not heard, or, if heard, supposed to come from 
an unauthorised source, for encouraged by what he had learned from 
the escaped prisoner, by the cry, and by the confusion that prevailed 
in the Richard, the English captain directed his boarders to be called 
away, and, as soon as mustered, they were ordered to take possession 
of the prize. Some of the men actually got on the gunwale of the 
latter ship, but finding boarders ready to repel boarders, they made a 
precipitate retreat. All this time, the top-men were not idle, and 
the enemy were soon driven below again with loss. 
, In the meanwhile, Mr. Dale, who no longer had a gun that could 
be fought, mustered the prisoners at the pumps, turning their con- 
sternation to account, and probably keeping the Richard afloat by 
the very blunder that had come so near losing her. The ships were 
now on fire again, and both parties, with the exception of a few guns 
on each side, ceased fighting, in order to subdue this common enemy. 
Ill the course of the combat, the Serapis is said to have been set on 
fire no less than twelve times, while, towards its close, as will be seen 
in the sequel, the Richard was burning all the while. 

As soon as order was restored in the Richard, after the call for 
quarter, her chances of success began to increase, while the English, 
driven undercover, almost to a man, appear to have lost, in a great 
degree, the hope of victory. Their fire materially slackened, while 



112 NAVAL HISTORY. [11119. 

the Richard again brought a few more guns to bear ; the main-mast 
of the Serapis began to totter, and her resistance, in general, to lessen. 
About an hour after the explosion, or between three hours and three 
hours and a half after the first gun was fired, and between two hours 
and two hours and a half after the ships were lashed together. Captain 
Pearson hauled down the colours of the Serapis with his own hands, 
the men refusing to expose themselves to the fire of the Richard's tops. 

As soon as it was known that the colours of the English had been 
lowered, Mr. Dale got upon the gunwale of the Richard, and laying 
hold of her main brace pendant, he swung himself on board the Ser- 
apis. On the quarter-deck of the latter he found Captain Pearson, 
almost alone, that gallant officer having maintained his post, through- 
out the whole of this close and murderous conflict. Just as Mr. Dale 
addressed the English captain, the first lieutenant of the Serapis 
came up from below to inquire if the Richard had struck, her fire 
having entirely ceased. Mr. Dale now gave the English officer to 
understand that he was mistaken in the position of things, the Ser- 
apis having struck to the Richard, and not the Richard to the Sera- 
pis. Captain Pearson confirming this account, his subordinate 
acquiesced, offering to go below and silence the guns that were still 
playing upon the American ship. To this Mr. Dale would not con- 
sent, but both the English officers were immediately passed on board 
the Richard. The firing was then stopped below. Mr. Dale had 
been closely followed to the quarter-deck of the Serapis, by Mr. 
Mayrant, a midshipman, and a party of boarders, and as the former 
struck the quarter-deck of the prize, he was run through the thigh, 
by a boarding-pike, in the hands of a man in the waist, who was 
ignorant of the surrender. Thus did the close of this remarkable 
combat, resemble its other features in singularity, blood being shed 
and shot fii-ed, while the boarding officer was in amicable discourse 
with his prisoners ! 

As soon as Captain Pearson was on board the Richard, and Mr. 
Dale had received a proper number of hands in the prize. Com- 
modore Jo5iies ordered the lashings to be cut, and the vessels to be 
separated, hailing the Serapis, as the Richard drifted from alongside 
of her, and ordering her to follow his own ship. Mr. Dale now had 
the head sails of the Serapis braced sharp aback, and the wheel put 
down, but the vessel refused both her helm and her canvass. Sur- 
prised and excited at this circumstance, the gallant lieutenant sprang 
from the binnacle on which he had seated himself, and fell at his 
length on the deck. He had been severely wounded in the leg, by a 
splinter, and until this moment was ignorant of the injury ! He was 
replaced on the binnacle, when the master of the Serapis came up 
and acquainted him with the fact that the ship was anchored. 

By this time, Mr. Lunt, the second lieutenant, who had been absent 
in the pilot boat, had got alongside, and was on board the prize. 
To this officer Mr. Dale now consigned the charge of the Serapis, 
the cable was cut, and the ship followed the Richard, as ordered. 

Although this protracted and bloody combat had now ended, 
neither the danger nor the labours of the victors were over. The 



1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. 113 

Richard was both sinking and on fire. The flames had got within 
the ceiUng, and extended so far that they menaced the magazine, 
while all tlie pumps, in constant use, could barelj keep the water at 
the same level. Had it depended on the exhausted people of the two 
combatants, the ship must have soon sunk, but the other vessels of 
the squadron sent hands on board the Richard, to assist at the pumps. 
So imminent did the danger from the fire become, that all the powder 
vv^as got on deck, to prevent an explosion. In this manner did the 
night of the battle pass, with one gang always at the pumps, and 
another contending with the flames, until about ten o'clock in the 
forenoon of the 24th, when the latter were got under. After the 
action, eight or ten Englishmen in the Richard, stole a boat from the 
Serapis, and ran away with it, landing at Scarborough. Several of 
the men were so alarmed with the condition of their ship, as to jump 
overboard and swim to the other vessels. 

When the day dawned, an examination was made into the situa- 
tion of the Richard. Abaft, on a line with those guns of the Serapis 
that had not been disabled by the explosion, the timbers were found 
to be nearly all beaten in, or beaten out, for in this respect there was 
little difference between the two sides of the ship; and it was said 
that her poop and upper decks would have fallen into the gun-i'oom, 
but for a few futtocks that had been missed. Indeed, so large was 
the vacuum, that most of the shot fired from this part of the Serapis, 
at the close of the action, must have gone through the Richard with- 
out touching any thing. The rudder was cut from the sternpost, 
and the transoms were nearly driven out of her. All the after part 
of the ship, in particular, that was below the quarter-deck, was torn 
to pieces, and nothing had saved those stationed on the quarter- 
deck, but the impossibility of sufficiently elevating guns that almost 
touched their object. 

The result of this examination was to convince every one of the 
impossibility of carrying the Richard into port, in the event of its 
coming on to blow. Commodore Jones was advised to remove his 
wounded while the weather continued moderate, and he reluctantly 
gave the order to commence. The following night and the morning 
of the succeeding day were employed in executing this imperious 
duty, and about nine o'clock, the officer of the Pallas, who was in 
charge of the ship, with a party at the pumps, finding that the water 
had reached the lower deck, reluctantly abandoned her. About ten, 
the Bon Homme Richard wallowed heavily, gave a roll, and settled 
slowly into the sea, bows foremost. 

The Serapis suffered much less than the Richard, the guns of the 
latter having been so light, and so soon silenced; but no sooner were 
the ships separated, than her main-mast fell, bringing down with it 
the mizen-top-mast. Though jmy-masts were erected, the ship 
drov^e about, nearly helpless, in the North Sea, until the 6tli of Oc- 
tober, when the remains of the squadron, with the two prizes, got 
into tlie Texel, the port to which they had been ordered to repair. 

In the combat between the Richard and the Serapis, an unusual 
number of lives was lost, though no regular authentic report appears 

VOL. r. 8 



114 NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 

to have been given by either side. Captain Pearson states the loss 
of the Richard at about 300 in killed and wounded ; a total that would 
have included very nearly all hands, and which Avas certainly a great 
exaggeration, or at least a great mistake. According to a muster-roll 
of the officers and people of the Richard, excluding the marines, 
which is still in existence, 42 men were killed, or died of their wounds 
shortly after the battle, and 41 were Avounded. This would make a 
total of 83, for this portion of the crew, which, on the roll amounted 
to 227 souls. But many of the persons named on this list are known 
not to have been in the action at all; such as neither of the junior 
lieutenants, and some thirty men that were with them, besides those 
absent in prizes. As there were a few volunteers on board, however, 
who were not mustered, if we set down 200 as the number of the 
portion of the regular crew that was in the action, we shall probably 
not be far from the truth. By estimating the soldiers that remained 
on board at 120, and observing the same proportion for their casual- 
ties, we shall get 40 for the result, which will make a total of 132, 
as the entire loss of the Richard. It is known, however, that, in the 
commencement of the action, the soldiers, or marines, suffered out 
of proportion to the rest of the crew, and genei-al report having made 
the gross loss of the Richard 150 men, we are disposed to believe that 
it was not far from the fact. 

Captain Pearson reported a part of his loss at 117 men, admitting, 
at the same time, that there were many killed and wounded Avhose 
names he could not discover. It is probable that the loss of men, in 
the two ships, was about equal, and that nearly, or quite half of all 
those who were engaged, were either killed or wounded. Commo- 
dore Jones, in a private letter, written some time after the occurrence, 
gives an opinion, however, that the loss of the Richard was less than 
that of the Serapis. That two vessels of so much force shoidd lie 
lashed together more than two hours, making use of artillery, mus- 
ketry, and all the other means of annoyance known to the warfare 
of the day, and not do even greater injtny to the crews, strikes us with 
astonishment; but the fict must be ascribed to the peculiarities of 
the combat, which, by driving most of the English under cover so 
early in tlie battle, and by keeping the Americans above the line of 
fire of their enemies, in a measure protected each party from the 
missiles of the other. As it was, it proved a murderous and san- 
guinary conflict, though its duration would probably have been much 
shorter, and its character still more bloody, but for these unusual 
circumstances.* 

* The writer lias given the particulars of this celehrated sea-fight in detail, on account 
of the great interest that has always been attached to the subject, no less than from a desire 
to correct many of the popular errors that have so long existed in connexion with its 
incidents. In framing his own account, he has followed what to him have appeared to 
be the best authorities. Scarcely any two of the eye-witnesses agree in all their facts, 
but by dint of examination, the writer has been enabled to discover, as he believes, 
■where the weight of credible testimony and probability lies, and has used it accordingly. 
Commodore Dale, a witness evei-y way entitled 1o respect, so far as his position enabled 
him to note occurrences, was kind enough while living to describe to the writer the 
manojuvres of the ships, which it is hoped have now been given in a way that will render 
them intelligible to seamen. There are but two leading circumstances of this sort that, 
to the writer, appear doubtful. The Alliance thrice approached, each time firing into 



1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. 115 



CHAPTER X. 

Arrival of the Serapis in Holland — Paul Jones takes command of the Alliance, and is 
forced to put to sea — Capt. Landais is discharged the navy — Commodore Jones in 
the Ariel, returns to America — Sketch of his life — "Vote of thanks by Congress — Re- 
ceives command of the America — Several captures by the Deane, Capt. Samuel 
Nicholson — Capture of the Active — Action with the Duft^ — Expedition against the 
British post on the Penobscot-— Loss of all the vessels engaged therein. 

The arrival of Paul Jones, with his prizes, in Holland, excited a 
great deal of interest in the diplomatic world. The English de- 
manded that the prisoners should be released, and that Jones himself 
should be given up as a pirate. The Dutch government, though 
well disposed to favour the Americans, was not prepared for v/ar, 
and it was induced to temporise. A long correspondence followed, 
which terminated in one of those political expedients that are so 
common, and in which the pains and penalties of avowing the truth, 
are avoided by means of a mystification. The Serapis, which had 
been re-masted and equipped, was transferi'ed to France, as was 
the Scarborough, while Commodore Jones took command of the 
Alliance, Captain Landais having been suspended, and was ordered 
to quit the country. 

It would seem that there were two parties in Holland: that of the 
prince and that of the people. With the latter the American cause 
was popular; but the former employed an admiral at the Texel, 
who, after a vexatious course, finally succeeded in forcing the Al- 
liance to put to sea, in the face of a fleet of enemies, which was 
anxiously awaiting her appearance. The Alliance went to sea on the 
27th of December, 1779, and reached the roads of Groix again in 
safety, on the lOtli of February, 1780. She passed down the Chan- 

both the combatants ; but the accounts, or rather testimony,- — for there are many certifi- 
cates given by the officers not only of the Richard, but of the Alliance herself, Pallas, <5cc, — 
is so obscure and confused, that it is difficult to get at the truth of the manner, order, and 
exact time in which these attacks were made. With the vie^v to give no opinion as to 
the precise time of the last firing of the Alliance, the writer has condensed the account 
of all her proceedings into one, though he inclines to think that the second attack of this 
ship may have occurred a little later in the contest than would appear from the manner 
in which it is told in the narrative. Tlie word may is used from uncertainty, most of the 
testimony, perhaps, placing the occurrence in the order of time given in the text. Cap- 
tain Pearson says, or is made to say, in his official report, that the Alliance "kept sailing 
round us the whole action, and raking us fore and aft," &c. This statement is contra- 
dicted by the foniial certificates of nearly every officer in the Richard, by persons on 
board the Alliance, by spectators in boats, as well as by officers of the other vessels near. 
The first lieutenant and master of the Alliance herself admit that they were never on the 
offside of the Serapis at all, and of course their ship never could have gone round her. 
They also say that they engaged the Scarborough, at very long shot, for a short time ; a 
fact that Captain Piercy of the Scarborough, corroborates. They add, moreover, that 
their ship was a long time aloof from the combat, and that .she only fired three broadsides, 
or parts of broadsides, at the Richard and Serapis. From the testimony, there is little 
doubt that the Alliance did materially more injury to the Richard than to the Serapis; 
thonch, as Captain Pearson could not have known this fact at the time, it is highly 
probable that her proximity may have influenced that officer in inducing hira to lower 
his flag. 

The second point is the fact whether the Scarborough raked the Richard before sh.e 
was herself engaged with the other ships. The writer is of opinion that she did, while 
he admits that the matter is involved in doubt. 



116 NAVAL HISTORY. [1780. 

nel, was near enough to the squadron in the Downs to examine its 
force, was several times chased, and made a short cruise in the Bay 
of Biscay, after having touched in Spain. Captain Conyngham, 
who had been captured in a privateer and escaped, joined the Al- 
hance, and went round to I'Orient in the ship. 

AUhough it will be anticipating the events of another year, we 
shall finish the history of this vessel, so far as she was connected 
with the officer who first commanded her, Captain Landais. This 
gentleman had been sent for to Paris, to account for his conduct to 
the American minister, and subsequently his claim to command the 
Alliance was referred to Mr. Arthur Lee, who was on the spot, and 
who had long been in Europe, as a conspicuous agent of the govern- 
ment. The decision of this commissioner restored the Alliance to 
Captain Landais, on the ground that his command having been 
given to him by the highest authority of the country, a vote of Con- 
gress, he could not legally be deprived of it by any subordinate 
authority. In June, Captain Landais sailed in the ship for America, 
where she was given to an officer better fitted to show her excellent 
qualities, and who, in the end, succeeded in redeeming her character. 
During the passage home. Captain Landais was deposed from the 
command, under the idea that he was insane, and soon after he was 
discharged from the navy. It is thought that the absence of Com- 
modore Jones, alone, prevented his receiving severe punishment. 

Commodore Jones, anxious to get back to America, took command 
of the Ariel 20, a little ship that the king of France lent to his alhes, 
to aid in transporting military supplies; and in this vessel, with a 
portion of the officers and men Avho had belonged to the Richard, he 
sailed from under Groix on the 7th of September. When a day or 
two out, the Ariel encountered a severe gale, in which she came near 
being lost. The ship was so pressed upon by the wind, that her 
lower yard-arms frequently dipped, and though an anchor was let 
go, she refused to tend to it. In order to keep her from foundering, 
the fore-mast was cut away, and the heel of the main-mast having 
worked out of the step, that spar followed, bringing down with it the 
mizen-mast. 

Returning to I'Orient to refit, the Ariel sailed a second time for 
America, on the 18th of December. During the passage, she fell in 
with an enemy of about her own size, in the night, and after much 
conversation, a short combat followed, when the English ship inti- 
mated that she had struck, but taking advantage of her position, she 
made sail and escaped. Some unaccountable mistake was made 
by, or an extraordinary hallucination appears to have come over, 
Commodore Jones, in reference to this affiiir, for, in his journal, he 
speaks of his enemy as having been an English twenty-gun ship 
called the Triumph, and the result as a victory. The Triumph, if 
such was truly the name of the English sliip, was probably a letter 
of marque, unable to resist a vessel of war of any force, and though 
not free from the imputation of treachery, she escaped by out-ma- 
noeuvrhig the Ariel.* On the I8th of February, 1781, after an 

* Private communication of tlie !ate Commodore Dale, to the writer. 





1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. 117 

absence of moie than three years, Paul Jones reached Piiiladelphia 
in safety.* 

Before we return to the American seas, and to the more regular 
incidents of the year 1779, we will add that, after an inquiry into 
the conduct of Captain Jones, as it was connected with all his pro- 
ceedings in Europe, Congress gave him a vote of thanks, and, by a 

* John Paul was born on the 6ih of July, 1747, at Arbigland, on the Frith of Sol way, 
in the kingdom of Scotland. His father was the gardener of Mr. Craik, a gentleman of 
that vicinity. At the age of twelve, the boy was apprenticed to a ship-master in the Vir- 
ginia trade, and he made his appearance in America, in consequence, when in his thir- 
teenth year. An elder brother had married and settled in Virginia, and from this time 
young Paul appeal's to have had views of the same sort. The failure of his master in- 
duced him to give up the indentures of the apprentice, and -we soon find the latter on 
board a slaver. Tlie master and mate of the vessel he was in, dying, Paul took charge 
of her, and brought her into port ; and from that time he appears to have sailed in com- 
mand. About the year 1770, he caused a man named Mungo Maxwell to be flogged for 
misconduct, and the culprit made a complaint of ill-treatment, menacing a prosecution. 
The complaint was rejected by the local auUiorities (West Indies) as frivolous; but, not 
long after. Maxwell wentto sea in another ship, and died rather suddenly. \Mien the 
fact became known, the enemies of Paul circulated a report that the death of this man 
was owing to the ill-treatment he had received when punished by his former commander. 
Although this rumour was completely disproved in the end, it raised a prejudice against 
the young seaman, and, at a later day, when he became conspicuous, it ^vas used against 
him, for political efi'ect, by those who ought to have been superior to injustice of so low 
a character. 

Mr. Paul was soared at this ill-treatment, and, in a manner abandoned his native coun- 
try. In 1773, his brother died, and he went to Virginia to settle, with the intention of 
quitting the seas. Hei'e, for some reason that is unknown, he added the name of Jones 
to his two others. The hostilities of 177.5, however, brought him foi-ward again, and he 
\vas the senior lieutenant ever commissioned regularly, in the service of Congress. As 
this was before the declaration of independence, the relative rank was not established; 
but in October, 1776, his name appears on the list as the eighteenth captain. 

His first cruise was in the Alfred 24, Captain Saltoustall, the ship that bore the broad 
pennant of Commodore Hopkins, and his first engagement was that with the Glasgow. 
From the Alfred, he was transferred to tlie sloop Providence 12, as her captain. He then 
commanded the Alfred 24. In 1777 he was appointed to the Ranger 18, a crank, clumsy 
sliip, with a gun-deck, but no armament above, and a dull sailer. In 1778, after the cruise 
in ihe Irish Channel, in v^'hich he took tlie Drake, he gave up the command of the Ranger, 
and in 1779, obtained that of the squadron, under the celebrated concordat. His subse- 
quent niomements are to be ti'aced in the text. 

In 1782, Captain Jones •ws.s launched in the America 74, and the same day delivered 
her up to the Chevalier de Martigne, the late commander of the Magnifique, the .ship she 
■was now to replace. After this he made a cruise in the French Beet, as a volunteer, in 
which situation he was found by the peace. In November, 1783, he sailed for France 
with a commission to negotiate for the recovery of prize-money in different parts of Eu- 
ro[)e. In 1787 he came to America on business, but returned to Europe in the course 
of the same season. He now went to the north on business connected with his prizes. 
About this time iie received some proposals to enter the Russian navy, and in the spring 
of 1788 he obtained the rank of rear-admiral accordingly. Shortly after he was placed 
in an important command against the Turks, in which situation he is said to have render- 
ed material services. But personal hostility drove liim from Russia in 1789. He returned 
to Paris, retaining his rank, and pensioned. From this time he remained in France and 
the adjacent countries of Europe, until his death, which occurred at Paris, on the I8th of 
July, 1792. A commission appointing him the agent of the American government to 
treat with Algiers, arrived after he was dead. 

That Paul Jones was a remarkable man, cannot be justly questioned. He had a re- 
spectable English educatioiri, and, after his ambition had been awakened by success, he 
appears to have paid attention to the intellectual jiarts of his profession. In his enter- 
prises are to be discovered much of that boldness of conception that marks a great naval 
captain, though his most celebrated battle is probably the one in which he evinced no 
other very high quality than that of an invincible resolution to conquer. Most of tlie mis- 
fortunes of the Bon Homme Richard, however, may be veiy fairly attributed to the in- 
subordination of his captains, and to the bad equipment of his own vessel. The expedi- 
ent of running the Serapis aboard was one like himself, and it was the only chance of 
victory that was left. 

Paul Jones was a man rather ar.dcrthan above the mid-die size, and his countenance 
has hecn dascribed as pos.<^ssirjg much of that sedatcuess which mai-ks deep enthusiasm. 



118 NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 

formal resolution, bestowed on him the command of the America 74, 
the only one of the six ships of that class that was ever laid down 
under the law of 1776. In order to dispose of this branch of the 
subject at once, it may be well to say here, that the America never 
got to sea under the national colours. Congress presenting the ship 
to their ally, Louis XVI., to replace the Magnifique 74, which had 
been lost in the port of Boston. This friendly offering was made 
by resolution, September the 3d, 1782, and it being now near the 
end of the war, Paul Jones never got to sea again in the sei-vice. In 
consequence of the America's having been presented to France, 
while still on the stocks, the United States properly possessed no 
two-decked ship during the war of the Revolution. 

To return to the more regular order of events. 

During the summer of 1779, the Deane 32, Captain Samuel Nich- 
olson, and the Boston 24, Captain Tucker, made a cruise in com- 
pany. In August of that year, these two ships took many prizes, 
thouffh no action of moment occurred. Among those were the Sand- 

o ... 

wich, (a packet,) 16, two privateers, with the Glencairn 20, and the 
Thorn 18. The two last vessels were letters of marque. 

In the spring of this year, the Providence 12, Captain Hacker, 
took a vessel of equal force, called the Diligent, after a sharp action- 
The particulars of this engagement are lost, though they are known 
to have been highly creditable to the American officer. The Dili- 
gent appears to have been taken into the service. 

A bloody action also occurred, about the same time, between the 
Massachusetts state cruiser Hazard 14, Captain John Foster Wil- 
liams, and the Active 18, a vessel that is supposed to have belonged 
to the king. The combat lasted half an hour, and was determined 
in favour of the Hazard. The Active is said to have had 33 killed 
and wounded, and the Hazard 8. Shortly after this handsome 
affair. Captain Williams was appointed to the ship Protector 20, 
belonoing to the same state, and in June he had a severe action with 
one of those heavy letters of marque, it was so much the custom to 

There ii? no doubt that his eminence arose from the force of his convictions, rather than 
from his po-wer ofcombinin^, though his reasoning faculties were respectable. His as- 
sociations in Paris appear to have a^vakenerl a taste which, whenever it comes late in 
life, is almost certain to come attended with exaggeration. Personally he would seem to 
have been vain ; a very excusable foible in one of iiis education and previous habits, thai 
•was suddenly exposed to the flattery and seductions of Parisian society. He never mar- 
ried, though he was not averse to the sex, as appears from his letters, poetic effiisions, and 
gallantries. Au affectation of a literary taste, that expended itself principally in homage 
to those he admired, foniied indeed one of his principal weaknesses. 

In battle, Paul Jones was brave ; in enterprise, hardy and original ; in victory^ mild 
and generous ; in motives, much disposed toclisiateye.stedness,though ambitious of renovs^n 
and covetous of distinction ; in his pecuniary relations, liberal ; in his affections, natural 
and sincere ; and in his temper, except in those cases which assailed his reputation, just 
and forgiving. He wanted the quietselfrespect of a man capable of meeting actsoi" in- 
justice with composure and dignity; and his complaints of ill-treatment and neglect, for 
which there was sufficient foundation, probably Tost him favour both in France ami 
America. Had circumstances put him in a situation of high command, there is little 
doubt that he would have left a name unsurpassed by that of any naval captain, or have 
perished in cndeavonring to obtain it. 

From the American government, Paul Jones received many proofs of commendation. 
Louis XVI. created him a knight of the order of Merit, and Catharine of Ilu.ssia con- 
ferred on him the riband of St. Anne. He also received otb.er marks of distiuctioiLU with 
a pension from Denmark. 



1779.] NAVAL HISTORY. 119 

send to sea, at the period of which we are writing, called the Duff; 
a ship said to have been quite equal in force to the Protector. After 
a sharp contest of more than an hour, the Duff blew up. The Pro- 
tector succeeded in saving 55 of her crew, having had 6 of her own 
people killed and wounded in the battle. Taking and manning 
many prizes, the Protector had a narrow escape from capture, by 
falling in with the enemy's frigate Thames 3:3, from which ship, 
however, she escaped, after a sharp running fight, in which the 
Thames was much cripi)led aloft. On returning to port, Captain 
Williams, who bore a high reputation as an officer and a seaman, 
was immediately engaged in the expedition that it is our duty to 
record next, and which proved to be much the most disastrous affiiir 
in which American seamen were ever engaged. 

The enemy having established a ])ost on the Penobscot, and placed 
a strong garrison in it, the State of Massachusetts determined to 
drive them from its territory, without calling upon Congress for as- 
sistance. As the country was then nearly a wilderness, it is probable 
a feeling of pride induced this step, it being worthy of remark, that 
after General Gage was expelled from Boston, the enemy had, in 
no instance, attempted to maintain any other post than this, which 
lay on a remote and uninhabited frontier, within the territories of 
New England. For this purpose, Massachusetts made a draft of 
1500 of her own militia, and got an order for the lL_S^ship Warren 
3*2, Captain Saltonstall, the Diligent 14, Captain Brown, and the 
Providence 12, Captain Ilacker, to join the expedition; these being 
the only regular cruisers employed on the occasion. Three vessels 
belonging to Massachusetts were also put under the orders of Cap- 
tain Saltonstall, and a force consisting of thirteen privateers was 
added. In addition there were many transports and store-vessels. 
General Lovel commanded the brigade. 

This armament made its appearance off the Penobscot on the 
25th of July. While the militia were making their descent, the 
Warren, and another vessel of some force, engaged the enemy's 
works. The cannonading was severe, and the Warren is said to 
have had 30 men killed and wounded, in the action with the bat- 
teries, and in landing the troops. The latter duty, however, was 
successfidly performed by General Lovel, with a loss of about a 
hundred men, including all arms. Finding it impossible to carry 
the place with his present force, the commanding officer now seht 
for reinforcements. On the 13th of August, while waiting for a re- 
turn of the messenger, information was received from the Tyranni- 
cide, the look-out vessel, that Sir George Collier, in the Rainbow 44, 
accompanied by four other vessels of war, was entering the bay. 
The troops immediately re-embarked, and a general, hurried and 
confused flight ensued. The British squadron, consisting of five 
vessels of war, quickly appeared, and a pursuit up the river was 
commenced, and continued for a long distance. The enemy soon 
got near enough to use their chase guns, and the fire Avas returned 
by the Americans. It was undoubtedly the wish of Captain Salton- 
stall, to reach the shallow water before he was overtaken, but find- 



120 NAVAL HISTORY. [1779. 



ing this impracticable, he run his ship asliore, and set her on fire. 
Others followed this example, and most of the vessels were destroyed, 
though three or four fell into the hands of the enemy. 

Captain Saltonstall was much, and, in some respects, perhaps, 
justly censured, for this disaster, though it is to be feared that it 
arose more from that habit of publicity, which is peculiar to all coun- 
tries much influenced by popular feeling, than from any other cause. 
Had a due regard been paid to secrecy, time might have been gained 
in that remote region, to effect the object, before a sufficient force 
could be collected to go against the assailants. In a military sense, 
the principal faults appeared to have been a miscalculation of means, 
at the commencement, and a neglect to i"aise such batteries, as 
might have protected the shipping against the heavy vessels of the 
enemy. It could not surely have been thought that privateers, 
armed with light guns, were able to resist two-deckers, and the fact, 
that the English had a fleet of such vessels on the coast was gener- 
ally known. The Warren, the largest vessel among the Americans, 
was a common frigate of thirty- two guns, and had a main-deck bat- 
tery of twelve-poiniders. Whatever might have been attempted by 
a regular force, was put out of the question by the insubordination 
of the privateers-men, each vessel seeking her own safety, as her 
captain saw best. 

The troops and seamen that landed, found themselves in the centre 
of a Avilderness, and taking different directions, their sufferings, be- 
fore they reached their settlements, were of the severest kind. It is 
a fact, worthy of being recorded, that, on this occasion, the Warren 
being short of men at the commencement of the expedition, and find- 
ing it difficult to obtain them by enlistment, in consequence of the 
sudden demand for seamen. Captain Saltonstall made up the defi- 
ciency by impressment. 

The disastrous result of this expedition inflicted a severe blow on 
American nautical enterprises. Many privateers and state vessels, 
that had been successful against the enemy's commerce, were either 
captured or destroyed. Among the vessels blown up, was the Prov- 
idence 12, one of the first cruisers ever sent to sea by the United 
States, and which had become noted for exploits greatly exceeding 
her force. As far as can now be ascertained, we find reason to be- 
lieve, that this little cruiser was both sloop-rigged and brig-rigged, in 
the course of her service. She had been a privateer out of Rhode 
Island, at the commencement of the war, and was bought of her 
original commander. Captain Whipple,* who was himself admitted 
into the service, as the first commander of the Columbus 20, and 
who subsequently was numbered as the twelfth captain, on the regu- 
lated list of 1776. 

* This oflRcer is supposed toliave commanded at the burning of the Gaspein 1772. 



1780.] NAVAL HISTORY. 121 



CHAPTER XL 

Attack on and reduction of Charleston — Capture of the Boston — the Providence — the 
the dueen of France — and the Ranger— Action between the Trumbull and the letter 
of marque Wait — The Saratoga, Capt. Young, captures the Charming Molly and two 
brigs — they are retaken by the Intrepid— the Saratoga founders at sea — The Alliance, 
Capt. John Barry, captures the Alert. Mars, and Minerva — her action with and capture 
of the Atalanta and Trepassy — action off Havanna — The Confederacy captured by 
the British — Action with the Iris and loss of the Trumbull — Sketch of Capt. James 
Nicholson — Capture of the Savage by the Congress, Capt. Geddes — Three sloops of 
war and several cruisers, captui'ed by the Deane, Capt. Nicholson. 

At the commencement of the year 1780, the French fleet under 
Conite d'Estaing retired to the West Indies, leaviiio- the entire 
American coast, for a time, at the command of tJie Britisii. Sir 
Henry Chnton profited by the opportunity to sail against Charles- 
ton, with a strong force in ships and troops, whicli town he reduced 
after a short but vigorous siege. Several American ships of war 
were in the harbour at the time, under the command of Captain 
Whipple, and finding escape impossible, this officer carried Jiis 
squadron into the Cooper, sunk several vessels at its mouth, and 
landed all the guns and crews, for the defence of the town, with 
the exception of those of one ship. The Providence 28, Captain 
Whipple, the Queen of France 28,* Captain Rathburne, the Boston 
24, Captain Tucker, the Ranger 18, Captain Simpson, and several 
smaller vessels, fell into the hands of the enemy. 

The English government, by this time, found the system of pri- 
vateering so destructive to their navigation, that it had come to the 
determination of refusing to exchange any more of the seamen that 
fell into their power. By acting on this policy, they collected a 
large body of prisoners, sending them to England in their return 
ships, and sensibly aff^ected the nautical enterprises of the Ameri- 
cans, who, of course, had but a limited number of officers and men 
fit to act on the ocean. 

B}' the fall of Charleston, too, the force of the regular American 
marine, small as it had always been, was still more reduced. Of the 
frigates, the Alliance 32, the Hague (late Deane) 32, Confederacy 
32, Trumbull 28, and a ship or two bought or borrowed in Europe, 
appear to be all that were left, while the smaller cruisers, like the 
pitcher that is broken by going too often to the well, had not fared 
much better. 

In consequence of all these losses, the advanced state of the war, 
and the French alliance, which had brought the fleets of France 
upon the American coast. Congress appears to have thought any 
great efforts for increasing the marine unnecessary at the moment. 
The privateers and state cruisers were out and active as usual, 
though much reduced in numbers, and consequently in general effi- 
ciency. In contrast to these diminished efforts we find the British 

* This ship issupposed to have been a small frigate built at Nantes, by the American 
commissioners in France. 



122 NAVAL HISTORY. [1781. 

Parliament authorising the ministry to keep no less than 85,000 men 
employed in the English navy, including the marines. 

The first action of moment that occurred this year between any 
United States' vessel and the enemy, notwhhstanding, has the rep- 
utation of having been one of the most hotly and obstinately con- 
tested combats of the war. June 2d, 1780, the Trumbull 20, then 
under the command of Captain James Nicholson, the senior officer 
of the navy, while cruising in lat. 35° 54', long. 66° W., made a 
strange sail to windward from the mast-heads. The Trumbull im- 
mediately furled all her canvass, in the hope of drawing the stranger 
down upon her before she should be seen. At eleven, the stranger 
was made out to be a large shij), steering for the Trumbull's quarter ; 
but soon hauling more astern, sail was got on the American ship to 
close. After some manoeuvring, in order to try the rate of sailing 
and to get a view of the stranger's broadside, the Trumbull took in 
her lioht sails, hauled up her courses, the chase all this time betray- 
ing no desire to avoid an action, but standing directly for her adver- 
sary. When near enough, the Trumbull filled, and outsailing the 
stranger, she easily fetched to windward of her. Tlie chase now 
fired three guns, showed English colours, and edged away, under 
short sail, evidently with an intention to pursue her course. 

Captain Nicholson harangued his men, and then made sail to 
bring his ship up with the enemy. When about a hundred yards 
distant, the English ship fired a broadside, and the action began in 
good earnest. For two hours and a half the vessels lay nearly 
abeam of each other, giving and receiving broadsides without inter- 
mission. At no time were they half a cable's length asunder, and 
more than once the yards nearly interlocked. Twice was the 
Trumbull set on fire by the wads of her enemy, and once the enemy 
suffered in the same way. At last the fire of the Englishman slack- 
ened sensibly, until it nearly ceased. 

Captain Nicholson now felt satisfied that he should make a prize 
of his antagonist, and was encouraging his people with that hope, 
when a report was brought to him, that the main-mast was totter- 
ing, and that if it went while near the enemy, his ship would probably 
be the sacrifice. Anxious to secure the spar, sail was made, and the 
Trumbull shot ahead again, her superiority of saihng being very 
decided. She was soon clear of her adversary, who made no elFort to 
molest her. The vessels, however, were scarcely musket-shot apart, 
when the main and mizen top-masts of the Trumbull went over the 
side, and, in spite of every etfort to secure them, spar after spar came 
down, until nothing was left but the fore-mast. Under such cir- 
cumstances, the enemy, who manifested no desire to profit by her 
advantage, went oft' on lier proper course. Before she went out of 
sight, her main top-mast also, was seen to fall. 

It was afterwards ascertained that the ship engaged by the Trum- 
bull was a letter of marque called the Watt, Captain Coultliard, a 
vessel. of size, that had been expressly equipped to fight her way. 
Her force is not mentioned in the English accounts, but her com- 
mander, in his narrative of the aftair. in which he claims the victory, 



1780.] NAVAL HISTORY. 123 

admits his loss to have been 92 men, in killed and wounded. Cap- 
tain Nicholson estimated her force at 34 or 36 guns, mostly twelve- 
pounders ; and he states that of the Trumbull to have been 24 twelve- 
pounders and 6 sixes, with 199 souls on board when the action 
commenced. The Trumbull lost 39, in killed and wounded, 
among the former of whom were two of her lieutenants. 

In the way of a regular cannonade, this combat is generally 
thought to have been the severest that was fought in the war of the 
Revolution. There is no question of the superiority of the Watt in 
every thing but sailing, she having been essentially the lai-gest and 
strongest ship, besides carrying more guns and men than her oppo- 
nent. Owing to the difficulty of obtaining seamen, which has been 
so often mentioned, the Trumbull's crew was composed, in a great 
degree, of raw hands, and Captain Nicholson states particularly that 
many of his people were suffering under sea-sickness when they 
went to their guns. 

This action was not followed by another, of any importance, in 
which a government cruiser was concerned, until the month of Oc- 
tober, when the U. S. sloop of war Saratoga 16, Captain Young, 
fell in with, and captin-ed a ship and two brigs, the former, and one 
of the latter of which, were well armed. The conflict with the 
ship, which was called the Charming Molly, was conducted with a 
spirit and promptitude that are deserving of notice. Running along- 
side. Captain Young delivered his fire, and threw fifty men on the 
enemy's decks, when a fierce but short struggle ensued, that ended 
in the capture of the British ship. Lieutenant Barney, afterwards so 
distinguished in the service, led the boarders on this occasion ; and 
the crew that he' overcame is said to have been nearly double in 
numbers to his own party. 

After making these and other captures, the Saratoga made sail 
for the Capes of tlie Delaware, with the intention of conveying her 
prize into port. The following day, however, the convoy was cliased 
by the Intrepid 74, Captain Molloy, which ship retook all the prizes, 
but was unable to get the Saratoga under her guns. It is said, and 
we find no evidence to contradict it, that the Saratoga never returned 
to port, the vessel foundering, and her crew perishing at sea, un- 
heard of. 

The brevity of the regular naval annals of the three last years of 
the war, compels us to compress their incidents into a single chapter, 
as it is our aim, except in extraordinary instances, not to blend the 
exploits of the private armed ships with those of the public cruisers. 

It has been stated already that Captain Landais was dismissed 
from the service soon after his return home, when the command of 
the Alliance 32 was given to Captain John Barry, the officer who 
had made so gallant a resistance in the Raleigh, not long previously. 
In February, 1781, Captain Barry sailed from Boston for France, in 
command of this favourite ship, M'ith Colonel Laurens on board, which 
well known and much regretted young officer was charged with an 
important mission to the French com-1. The crew of the frigate was 
so inditlcrent, however, that Barry tiiought he risked his reputation 



124 NAVAL HISTORY. [1781. 

by putting to sea with it. On the outward passage, the Alliance 
captured a small privateer called the Alert, but no event of any mo- 
ment occurred. After landing Mr. Laurens, the frigate sailed from 
I'Orient on a cruise, with the Marquis de la Fayette 40, bound to 
America with stores, in company. Three days afterwards, or on the 
2d of April, 1781, they fell in with and captured two Guernsey 
privateers, one of which, the Mars, is said to have been a heavy 
vessel of 26 guns and 112 men, and the other, the Minerva, to have 
had an armament of 10 guns, and a crew of 55 souls. Neither of 
these cruisers appears to have made any resistance. 

After this success, the Alliance parted company with her consort 
and the prizes, and continued to cruise until the 28th of May, when 
she made two sail, that were standing directly for her. It was late 
in the day, and the strangers, when near enough to remain in sight 
during the darkness, hauled up on the same course with the Alliance, 
evidently with a view to defer the action until morning. At daylight 
on the Succeeding day, it was nearly a dead calm, and Avhen the 
mist cleared away, the two strangers were seen at no great distance, 
with English colours flying. They were now distinctly made out to 
be a sloop of war that rated 16 guns, and a brig of 14. The sea was 
perfectly smooth, and there being no wind, the two light cruisers were 
enabled to sweep up, and to select their positions, while the Alliance 
lay almost a log on the water, without steerage way. Owing to these 
circumstances, it was noon before the vessels were near enough to 
hail, when the action commenced. For more than an hour the Al- 
liance fought to great disadvantage, the enemy having got on her 
quarters, where only a few of the aftermost guns would bear on them. 
The advantage possessed by the English vessels, in consequence of 
the calm, at one time, indeed gave their people the gre.'itest hopes of 
success, for they had the fight principally to themselves. While 
things were in this unfortunate state, Captain Barry received a grape- 
shot through his shoulder, and was carried below. This additional 
and disheartening calamity added to the disadvantages of the Ameri- 
cans, who were suffering under the close fire of two spirited and 
persevering antagonists. Indeed, so confident of success did the 
enemy now appear to be, that when the ensign of the Alliance was 
shot away, this fact, coupled with the necessary slackness of her fire, 
induced tlieir people to quit their guns, and give three cheers for 
victory. This occurred at a moment when a light breeze struck the 
Alliance's sails, and she came fairly under steerage way. A single 
broadside from a manageable ship changed the entire state of the 
combat, and sent the enemy to their guns, again, with a convictioa 
that their work yet remained to be done. After a manly resistance, 
both the English vessels, in the end, were compelled to haul down 
their colours. 

The prizes proved to be the Atalanta 16, Captain Edwaids, with 
a crew of 130 men, and the Trepassy 14, Captain Smith, with a crew 
of 80 men. Both vessels were much cut up, and they sustained a 
joint loss of 41 men in killed and M^ounded. The Alliance did not 
escape with impunity, having had 11 killed and 21 wounded, prii:- 



1781.] NAVAL HISTORY. 125 

cipally by the fire of her enemies, while they lay on her quarter and 
across her stern. Captain Barry made a cartel of the Trepassy, and 
sent her into an English port with the prisoners, but the Atalanta 
was retaken by the enemy's squadron that was cruising off Boston, 
while attempting to enter that liarbour. 

Fortune now became capricious, and we are compelled to present 
the other side of the picture. Among the ships built late in the war, 
was the Confederacy 32. This vessel had been launched in 1778, 
at, or near Norwich, in Connecticut, and the command of her was 
given to Captain Seth Harding, the officer who was in the Defence 
i4, in the action in Nantasket Roads with the two transports captured 
in 1776. Captain Harding had been commissioned in the navy, in 
which his first command appears to have been this ship. The Con- 
federacy sailed for Europe in 1779, with Mr. Jay, the minister to 
Spain, on board, and was suddenly dismasted, a little to the eastward 
of Bermuda. Spar followed spar, in this calamity, until the ship 
lay a log on the water, with even her bowsprit gone. This mis- 
fortune must probably be attributed, like so many similar, that have 
succeeded it, to the rigging's having slackened, after having been 
set up in cold weather at home, when the ship got into a warm 
latitude. 

After several anxious weeks, the Confederacy got into Martinique, 
where Mr. Jay obtained a passage in the French frigate I'Aurore, 
and the American vessel remained to refit. From that time to the 
commencement of the present year, the Confederacy was employed, 
hke most of the large vessels of the service, in that stage of the war, 
in keeping open the communications between the country and the 
different ports where supplies were obtained, and in transporting 
stores. Early in 1781, she went to Cape Francois, and, on the 22d 
of June, while on her return, with clothing and other supplies on 
board, and with a convoy in charge, she was chased bv a large ship, 
whicli succeeded in getting alongside of her. Captain Harding had 
gone to quarters, and was about to open his fire, when the enemy ran 
out a lower tier of guns, and a frigate being in company a short dis- 
tance astern, she struck. Several of the convoy were also taken. 

The British stated the armament of the Confederacy to have been, 
when taken, 28 twelves, and 8 sixes, or 36 guns. Quitting this un- 
lucky vessel, we shall now return to the only other frigate that was 
built in Connecticut, during the war. 

Captain Nicholson continued in command of the Trumbull, after 
his severe conflict with the Watt, and we find him at sea again in 
that ship, in the summer of 1781. She left the Delaware on tlie 8th 
of August, with a crew short of 200 men, of which near 50 were of 
the questionable materials to be found among the prisoners of war. 
She had a convoy of twenty-eight sail, and a heavy privateer was in 
company. Off* the Capes, the Trumbull made three British cruisers 
astern. Two of the enemy, one of which was a frigate, stood for the 
Trumbull, wljich ship, by hauling up, was enabled to gain the wind 
of them. Night was near, and it blew heavily. The mercliantmen 
began to diverge from the course, though, by carrying easy sail, the 



126 NAVAL HISTORY. [1781. 

Trumbull was enabled to keep most of them ahead, and in their sta- 
tions. While standing on in this manner, hoping every thing from 
the darkness, a squall carried away the Trumbull's fore-top-mast, 
which, in falling brought down with it the main-top-gallant mast. 
As the weather was thick and squally, the vessels in company of the 
Trumbull took advantage of the obscurity and scattered, each making 
the best of her way, according to her particular rate of sailing. The 
Trumbull herself was compelled to bear up, in order to carry the 
canvass necessary to escape, but with the wreck over her bows, and 
a crew that was not only deficient in numbers, but which was raw, 
and in part disafiected, her situation became in the last degree em- 
barrasing. Indeed, her condition has been described as being so 
peculiarly distressing, as almost to form an instance of its own, of the 
difficulties that sometimes accompany naval warfare. 

About 10 o'clock at night, the British frigate Iris* 32, one of the 
vessels in chase, closed with the Trumbull, which ship, on account 
of the heaviness of the weather, had not yet been able to clear the 
wreck. In the midst of rain and squalls, in a tempestuous night, 
with most of the forward hamper of the ship over her bows, or lying 
on the forecastle, with one of the arms of the fore-topsail yard run 
through her fore-sail, and the other jammed on deck, and with a 
disorganised crew. Captain Nicholson found himself compelled to go 
to quarters, or to strike without resistance. He preferred the first, 
but the English volunteers, instead of obeying order, went below, 
extinguished the lights, and secreted themselves. Near half of the 
remainder of the people imitated this example, and Captain Nichol- 
son could not muster fifty of even the diminished crew he had, at 
the guns. The battle that followed, might almost be said to have 
been fought by the officers. These brave men, sustained by a party 
of the petty officers and seamen, managed a few of the guns, for 
more than an hour, when the General Monk 18, coming up, and 
joining in the fire of the Iris, the Trumbull submitted. 

In this singular combat, it has even been asserted that at no time 
were 40 of the Trumbull's people at their quarters. It was probably 
owing to this circumstance that her loss was so small, for the ship 
herself is said to have been extensively cut up. She had five men 
killed and eleven wounded. Among the latter were two of the lieu- 
tenants, and Mr. Alexander Murray, a gentleman of Maryland, who 
had been educated to the seas, and had been in the action with the 
Watt, but who was then serving as a volunteer, and who, after com- 
manding several private cruisers, entered the navy, and subsequently 
died at the head of the service in 1821 . Mr. Murray was particularly 
distinguished in this affair, and the conduct of Captain Nicholsont 

* Tbfi Iris bad been the United States' ship Hancock 32, Captain Manly, and was 
capturon" by the Rainbow 44, sir Georije Collier, with the Victor IG, in sight, and Flora 
32, in chase of her prize, the Fox. The Hancock, or Iris, proved to be one of the fastest 
ships on the American station, and made the fortunes of all who commanded her. _ Cap- 
tain Manly is thought to have lost her, in consequence of having put her out of trim, by 
starting her water, while chased. The ship in the end, fell into the hands of the French 
in the West lndie.9. 

t As the family of Captain Nicholson may be said to bo naval, it is due to our subject 
to give some account of it. The ancestor of this oHicer emigrated from Berwick-upon- 



1781.] NAVAL HISTORY. 127 

met with much applause. The Iris suffered more than could have 
been expected under such circumstances, and reported seven men 
killed and wounded. 

As affording some relief to the loss of the Trumbull, we now 
come to a handsome exploit that occurred soon after, Avhich ought, 
perhaps, properly, to take its place among the deeds of the private 
cruisers, but which is of sufficient importance to be mentioned here, 
and this so much the more, as a portion of those engaged belonged 
to the regular service of the country. A private cruiser called the 
Congress had been fitted out in Philadelphia, in the course of the 
summer, and in September she was cruising on the coast of the 
Carolinas and Georgia. The Congress had an armament of 20 
guns, according to the American accounts, and of 24 according to 
the English, and she was commanded by Captain Geddes. Few of 
her people were seamen, of which there was now a great scarcity in 
the country, but her complement was, in a great degree, made up 
of landsmen. 

Oil the morning of the 6th of September, cruising to the eastward 
of Charleston, the Congress made a sail, to which she gave chase. 
The stranirer was soon discovered to be a cruiser, and at first, showed 

Tweed, at the commencement of the eicrhtecnth centnry, and established himself in 
Mainland, where he obtained a errant called Nicholson's Manor, near the passage through 
the Blue Ridge which is still known as Nicholson's Gap. This property ^va^ subse- 
quently sold, and an estate was purchased on the Eastern Shore, where James Nicholson 
was born in 1737. 

James Nicholson ■was the second son of a numerous family, and he was sent to England 
for his education. He returned home young, however, and chose the sea as a profession. 
In 1762, in common with many Americans, he assisted at the siege of the Havana. In 
1763, he married. 

W^'hen the war broke out, in 1775, Mr. Nicholson was residing on the Eastern Shore, 
and he was immediately appointed to the command of a vessel called the Defence, that 
was equipped by the Colony of Maryland, and in which cruiser he was active and useful. 
His appointment as captain of the Virginia 28, took place June 6th, 1776, and when the 
rank was arranged on the 10th of October, of the same year, he was put at the head of the 
list of captains. At this time Commodore Hopkins Avas commander-in-chief, but when 
he ■was dismissed, Captain Nicholson became the senior officer of the navy; a station 
that he held to its dissolution. 

The Virginia being blockaded, Captain Nicholson and his ci'ew joined theormy under 
Washington, and were present, in the darkest mon;ent of the war, at the battle of Tren- 
ton. The manner in ■which the Virginia was lost has been related. 

The two battles fought by Commodore Nicholson while in command of the Trumbull 
28, were .sanaruiuary and hotly contested. In both cases the crews were, in a great degree, 
composed of landsmen ; and in the last action, none but a man of the highest notions of 
military honour would have thought resistance necessary. To .say nothing of the con- 
dition of his .ship, the Iris (Hancock) was one of the largest frigates built by the Amevicans 
in the Revolution, and the Trumbull was one of the smallest. The Monk was a heavy 
sloop of war, for that day, as is known from her subsequently falling into the hands of 
the Americans. 

Commodore Nicholson was not exchanged until near the close of the war, and there 
being no ship for him, he never went to sea again in sei-vice. He subsequently settled 
in New York, where he held a respectable civil appointment under the general govern- 
ment. He died September 2d, 1804, leaving a son and three daughters, one of the latter 
of whom married Albert Gallatin, ex-secretary of the treasury, &c. &c. &c. 

Samuel and John, the brothers of James Nicholson, were both captains in the Na\'y 
of the Revolution, and the former died at the head of the service, in 1811. Commodore 
S. Nicholson had four sons in the navy, and his brother John, tbiree Indeed, the third 
generation of this family, as in the case of the Perrys, are now in the service. In the 
whole, fifteen gentlemen of this name and family have served since 1775. of whom two 
have actually worn broad pennants, and a third died just as he was about to be appointed 
to one. In addition, several officers of distinction were near relatives. Commodore Mur- 
ray having been a cousiu-german of Commodore Nicholson, and Captain Gordon his 
nephew. 



128 NAVAL HISTORY. [1781. 

a liispositioa to engage, but, after some manoiuvriiig he stood off. 
At lialf past tea the Congress began to fire her bow guns, and at 
eleven being close up on the enemy's quarter, she opened a heavy fire 
of musketry, which did a good deal of execution. Drawing ahead, 
the Congress now delivered her broadside, and it was returned with 
spirit. At first the enemy got a cross fire upon the Congress, and the 
latter ship meeting with an accident, fell astern to refit. But soon 
closing again, the combat was renewed with fresh vigour, and the 
Congress iiavinggot her enemy fairly under her guns, in less than an 
kiour she left her a nearly unmanageable wreck on the water. Not- 
withstanding his condition, the Englishman showed no disposition to 
submit, and the Congress ran so close alongside, that the men were 
said to be recipi-ocally burned by the discharges of the guns. The 
quarter-deck and forecastle of the enemy had scarcely a man left on 
it, and his fire began to slacken in consequence of several of his guns 
having been dismounted. In this stage of the engagement shot were 
even thrown by hand and did execution. At length the mizen-mast 
of the English ship fell, and the main-mast threatening to follow it, 
her boatswain appeared on the forecastle, with his hat in his hand, 
and called out that his commander had struck. The prize proved to 
be the British sloop of war Savage 16, Captain Sterling. 

The accounts of the respective force of the vessels engaged in this 
warm contest, differ essentially ; and, as is usual in such matters, it 
is probable that the truth lies between them. There is little question 
of the superiority of the Congress in guns, metal, and men ; but when 
it is remembered that the conqueror was a private armed ship, with 
a raw crew, and that the captured vessel was a regular cruiser that 
had been long actively employed, it would not be just to withhold 
from Captain Geddes and his people, the credit of having performed 
a handsome naval exploit. As in other things, there is a discrepancy 
also in the account of the losses of the two ships. The Congress is 
said, by Captain Sterling, to have had about fifty men killed and 
wounded ; and by the American accounts, to have lost only thirty. 
The former makes the loss of the Savage eight killed, and twenty- 
four wounded ; while the Americans raise it as high as a total of 
fifty-four. There is a reason to question the accvu-acy of the pub- 
lished English account of this affiiir, to be found in the fact that Cap- 
tain Sterling, while he does not state that he was short-handed, tells 
us that he had but forty men left at their quarters when he struck. 
By adding this number to the thirty-two killed, or disabled by wounds, 
we get a total of but seventy-two for the crew of a frigate-built sloop 
of war, a fact that requires explanation to receive credit, and which, 
if true, would have so fairly entered into the relation of the defeat, 
as an extenuating circumstance. Official accounts of defeats so often 
undergo changes and mutilations between the hands of the writer and 
their publication, that we are not necessarily to attribute wilful mis- 
representation to a gallant but unfortunate officer, because the docu- 
ments laid before the world do not always rigidly coincide with prob- 
ability, or the truth as it has been derived from other sources. The 
Savage was re-captured by a British frigate, and taken into Charles- 



1782.] NAVAL HISTORY. 120 

ton. Captain Geddes got much credit for this affair ; and, at a later 
daj, we tind his name among those of the captains of the navy. 

We have now reached the year 17S2, which was virtually the last 
of the war of the Revolution, though some events will remain to be 
recorded in the early part of the year 1783. In the comencement 
of this year, the Deane 32, made a successful cruise, in which she 
took several private armed vessels of the enemy. By some accounts, 
three of her prizes were sloops of war, viz. the Regulator 18, the 
Swallow IG, and the Jackall 14 ; but we think it probable, that there 
may have been some mistake as to their characters. On this occa- 
sion, the Deane was commanded by Captain Samuel Nicholson. 

The favourite ship, the Alliance* 32, Captain Barry, was much 
employed this year, her superior sailing making her a vessel in con- 
stant demand. Among other services that she performed, this ship 
was sent to the Havana for specie, whence she sailed, in company 
with the Louzun, a ship loaded with supplies. Shortly after quitting 
port, some enemy's vessels fell in with them, and gave chase. While 
running from this force, a large sail was seen on the Alliance's 
weather bow, which was soon made out to be a French 50, of two 
decks. Exchanging signals, and supposing that the French frigate 
would sustain him. Captain Barry immediately wore round and 
brought the leading vessel of the enemy to action ; the others ma- 
noeuvring in a way to engage the attention of the fifty. The latter, 
however, kept her wind ; and after a sharp fight of more than half 
an hour, the English ship engaged Avith the Alhance, finding herself 
hard pushed, made signals to her consorts to join, when Captain 
Barry hauled off. The Alliance now stood for the French ship, and 
speaking her, it was determined to bring the enemy to action again, 
in company. On making sail in chase, however, it was soon found 
that the fifty was too dull a sailer to give the least hope of overtaking 
the enemy, and the attempt was abandoned. 

In this action, the Alliance had 3 killed and 11 wounded ; while 
it is said that the loss of the enemy was very heavy. Some state- 
ments place the latter as high as 87 men ; but no accounts can be 
discovered, that give j, very clear history of this affair. The English 
vessel engaged was the Sibyl, rating 20, and mounting 30 guns. 
She is said to have had 37 killed and more than 50 men wounded. 
The other vessels in company were frigates. One of the enemy, by 
somft of the accounts, was said to be a ship of the line, and the vessel 
engaged by the Alliance, a heavy sloop of war. 

The command of the Hague, one of the two fi-igates now left in 
the American marine, was given to Captain Manly, after her return 
from the cruise under Captain Nicholson ; and this officer who had 
virtually begun the maritime war, on the part of the United States, 
in a manner closed it, by an arduous and brilliant chase, in which he 
escaped from several of the enemy's ships in the West Indies, after 
being for a considerable time under the guns of a vastly superior 

* One of the traditions of the service stntes that the Alliance was chased this year, by 
an enemy's two-declicr and tliat she ran fifteen knots by the log:, with the wind abeam, 
in making her escape ! 

VOL. I. 9 



130 NAVAL HISTORY, [1782. 

force. This occurrence may be said to have brought the regular 
naval warfare of the United States to an end, so far as the govern- 
ment cruisers were concerned, peace havingbeen made early in 1783. 



CHAPTER XII. 



The Hyder Ally, Capt. Joshua Barney, sails with convoy down the Delaware — action 
with, and capture of the General Monk — he commands the Washington — Commodore 
Gillou goes to Europe to purchase vessels — agrees for the Indien — makes a cruise and 
captures ten sail— Capture of the Indien — One of the most desperate defences on 
record, by Capt. Murray — Close of naval events connected with the Revolution. 

Although we have introduced a few of the prominent actions in 
which the privateers were concerned in this war, it has been as excep- 
tions. Most of the accounts of such conflicts are of a questionable 
nature, depending principally on the rumours of the day, as they 
were written out for the newspapers, though it is known that many 
of the exploits of this description of vessels were of a brilliant kind, 
and every way entitled to respect. Indeed, the private cruisers of 
America have always had a character superior to those of other coun- 
tries ; a fact that is owing to the greater degree of relative respecta- 
bility that is attached to the profession of a seaman in this country, 
than it is usual to find elsewhere, and to the circumstance that the 
public marine has never been sufficiently large to receive all of those 
who would willingly take service in it, when the nation has been en- 
gaged in war. 

Privateering, in the abstract, is a profession of which reason and 
good morals can scarcely approve ; for whatever may be its legality, 
its aim is to turn the waste and destruction of war, to the benefit of 
avarice.* But circumstances may, and in two contests that have taken 
place between Great Britain and the United States, these circum- 
stances did offer so many apologies for engaging in the pursuit, as 
almost to raise it to the dignity of a more approved warfare. With- 
out regular fleets, borne upon by a powerful nation that claimed to 
command the ocean, and unable to assail their enemy in any qjher 
manner, most of the American seamen have found themselves re- 
duced to the necessity of choosing between idleness, during struggles 
that involved the dearest rights of the country, or of engaging in this 
mode of endeavouring to bring their enemies to terms. It is due to 
these brave men to say, that, as a rule, their conduct while afloat, has 
generally coincided with the sentiments here attributed to them ; 
American privateering having in all ages, been very little stigmatised 
by acts of oppression and rapine. 

In many instances, during the war of the Revolution, the private 

* Itis due to the American government to say, that it has unsuccessfully attempted to 
pat a .stop to this species of war, by means of negotiations 



1782.] NAVAL HISTORY. 131 

armed cruisers displayed an honourable chivalry, by engaging vessels 
of war, that sufficiently showed the spirit of their commanders ; and 
we find them nearly always ready, when occasions have offered, to 
quit the more peculiar occupation of assailing the enemy's commerce, 
in order to lend their aid in any of the regular military expeditions 
of the country. In short, in this war, the officer and the common 
man, appear equally to have passed from the deck of the public, to 
that of the private cruiser, knowing little difference between ships 
that carried the ensign of the republic, and which, in their eyes, were 
engaged in the same sacred cause. 

As respects the service of the colonial or state cruisers, there would 
be less reason to regard the accounts with distrust, but their records 
are scattered in so many different offices, and the marines themselves 
were so irregular, that it is almost impossible to obtain authentic 
details, at this distant day. In many instances, these vessels did 
excellent service ; and, in addition to a few that have already been 
incorporated in this work, among the more regular incidents of the 
war, we shall add the accounts of one or two of their actions, as they 
have been obtained from the best authorities that now offer, consid- 
ering them entitled to precedence, before we give an outline of the 
service performed by the private armed cruisers. 

In March, 1782, the Delaware was much infested by barges and 
small cruisers of the enemy, which not unfrequently made prizes of 
vessels belonging to the Americans, as well as molesting the people 
who dwelt near the water. With a view to keep the navigation open 
against these marauders, the State of Pennsylvania determined to fit 
out a few cruisers at its own expense, and with such materials as 
could be hastily collected. With this object, a small ship called the 
Hyder Ally was purchased. So suddenly did the local government 
come to its resolution, that the vessel just named, when bought, liad 
actually dropped down the river, on an outward bound voyage, loaded 
with flour. She was brought back, her cargo was discharged, and 
an armament of 16 six-pounders was put on her. So little, however, 
Avas this ship ready for war, that she had to be pierced in order to 
receive her guns. Indeed, so pressing was the emergency, that the 
merchants of Philadelphia anticipated the passage of the law to au- 
thorise the purchase and equipment of this ship, by advancing funds 
for that purpose ; and the act had not actually gone through all its 
legal forms, until after the exploit we are about to record had been 
performed ! The commissioners entrusted with the duty of prepar- 
ing the ship, selected Lieutenant Joshua Barney, of the United States 
navy, as her commander, a young officer of great decision of charac- 
ter and personal bravery, who had already distinguished himself in 
subordinate stations, on board of different cruisers of thegenei'al gov- 
ernment, but who, like so many more of the profession, was obliged 
frequently to choose between idleness and a service less regular than 
that to which he properly belonged. 

A crew of 110 men was put on board the Hyder Ally ; and within 
a fortnight after he was appointed to command her. Captain Bar- 
ney sailed. It was not the intention of the State of Pennsylvania, 



132 NAVAL HISTORY. [1782. 

that this ship should go to sea, but merely that she should keep the 
navigation of" the river and bay open, and drive off privateers, and 
other small cruisers. On the 8th of April, the Hyder Ally got into 
the bay with a considerable convoy of outward bound merchantmen. 
The whole fleet had anchored in the roads off Cape May, in wait- 
ing for a wind to get to sea, when two ships and a brig, one of the 
former a frigate, were seen rounding the Cape, with a view to attack 
them. Captain Barney immediately run up a signal for the convoy 
to trip, and to stand up the bay again, the wind being to the south- 
ward. This order was promptly obeyed, and in a few minutes, the 
merchant vessels, with one exception, were running ofi' before the 
wind, with every thing set that would draw, the Hyder Ally cover- 
ing their retreat, under easy sail. The vessel that remained, en- 
deavoured to get to sea, by hauling close round the Cape, but 
grounded and fell into the hands of the enemy. Another vessel got 
on the shoals, and was taken by a boat from the nearest of the Eng- 
lish cruisers. 

An extensive shoal, called the " Over Falls," forms two channels, 
in the lower part of Delaware Bay, and while the convoy passed up 
the easternmost of these channels, or that which is known as the 
" Cape May Channel," the frigate stood towards the western, which 
offered a better chance to head the fugitive at the point where the 
two united, and which had the most water. The remaining ship 
and the brig, stood on in the direction of the Hyder Ally. 

It was not long before the brig, which proved to be a British pri- 
vateer out of New York, called the Fair American, came up with 
the Hyder Ally, when the latter offered her battle. But firing a 
broadside, the privateer kept aloof, and continued up the bay. Cap- 
tain Barney declined to return this fire, holding himself in reserve 
for the ship astern, a large sloop of war, which was fast coming up. 
When the latter got quite near, the Hyder Ally, which had kept 
close to the shoal, luffed, threw in her broadside, and immediately 
righting her helm, kept away again. The enemy stood boldly on, 
and just as his forward guns were beginning to bear, the two vessels 
being within pistol-shot, the Hyder Ally attempted to luff athwart 
his hawse, when the jib-boom of the English ship ran into her fore- 
rigging, and the two vessels got foul. It is said that Captain Bar- 
ney obtained this advantage by deceiving his enemy, having given 
an order to port the helm, in a loud voice, when secret instructions 
had been given to the quarter-master at the wheel, to put his helm 
hard a-starboard. The Hyder Ally now opened a severe raking 
fire, and in less than half an hour from the commencement of the 
action, the stranger struck, the ships remaining foul of each other. 

The frigate, which had not actually got into the western channel, 
perceiving the state of things, changed her course, with the view to 
get round to the combatants, and Captain Barney had no time to 
lose. Throwing his first lieutenant, with a party, on board the prize, 
he ordered her to continue up the bay, while he covered the retreat 
with his own ship. In the mean while, the brig had run aground 
above, in chase of the convoy. There is some reason to suppose 



1782.] NAVAL HISTORY. 133 

that tlie commander of the frigate did not know tlie result of tlie ac- 
tion, for lie made signals to the ])ri/e, and anchored about sunset, 
leaving- the Hyder Ally, which had been kept a long distance astern 
of tlie otiier vessels, with a view to divert his attention, to proceed to 
Philadel|ihia withont further molestation. 

Up to this moment, Captain Barney did not even know the name 
of his prize. He now made sail, however, and running alongside 
of her, for the first time he learned he had captured his IJritannic 
Majesty's ship General Monk 18, Captain Rodgers. Tiiis vessel 
Jiad formerly been the American ])rivateer, General Washington, 
and having fallen into the power of Admiral Arbuthnot, he had la- 
ken her into the king's service, given her a new Jiame, and promo- 
ted a favourite officer to her command. The Monk mounted twenty 
nines, and is said to have had a crew of I'SiJ men. Captain Rodg- 
ers reported his loss at six killed, and twenty-nine wounded ; hut 
Captain Barney stated it at twenty killed, and thirty-six wounded. 
It is probable that the latter account is nearest the truth, as the 
coiumander of a captured vessel has not always as liood an oppor- 
tunity as his captor, to ascertain his own loss. The Hyder Ally had 
four killed, and eleven wounded. 

This action has been justly deemed one of the most brilliant that 
ever occurred under the American Hag. It was fought in the pres- 
ence of a vastly superior force that was not engaged ; and the ship 
taken, was in every essential respect, superior to her conqueror. 
The disproportion in metal, between a sL\-pounder and a nine- 
pounder, is ojie half; and the Monk, besides being a heavier and a 
Larger ship, had the nu)st men. Both vessels appeared before 
Philadelphia, a few hours after the action, britiging witii them even 
their dead ; and most of the leading facts were known to the entire 
community of that place.* 

The steadiness with which Captain Barney pn^tected his convoy, 
the gallantry and coiuluct with which he engaged, and the perse- 
verance with which he covered the retreat of his prize, are all de- 
serving of high praise. Throughout the whole aftair, this officer 

* A bioErraphy of tlie life of Caplain Rodtrcrs ]ias appoav(?(1 ; ami, in tliis work it is 
asserted tliat the armament of the General Monl< was of nine-pound rarroiiadat, and that 
the ernns were so light, that they were dismounted by the recoils. The defeat is imputed 
to this cause. In tlie subsequent action, mentioned in the text, the Monk, then the Gen- 
eral Washington, is said to have suflcred a disadvantage, in consequence of her nines 
being sixes bored out to the former caliber, the guns not having ■weight enough to bear 
the recoil. This is a professional fact, that might well enough occur. It is, therefore, 
probable that, when taken, the Monkhad these same nines, and that some may have been 
dismounted by the recoils. Hut, on the other hand, the Monk could have lo.st near half 
her guns in this way, and still Iiave been erjual to the Hyder Ally ; and the fact appears 
to be certain, that the combat was settled by the bold nianoruvre of Captain Barney. It 
is mentioned, moreover, in this same biography, that Captain Rodgers had been two 
years very actively employed in tlie Monk, when she was taken ; and it will be admit- 
ted as singular, that he did not understand the power of his guns by that time. Re- 
duced cliarges, moreover, would have obviated the difficulty in a combat in \\ hich the 
ships touched each other. Carronades were scarcely known in 1782, and the Monk, re- 
ceived her outfit in 1779. Besides, she would have carried much heavier carronades. 
had .she carried any, the weight of an eighteen-pound carronade being about the same 
as that of a six-pounder. The biograjiher has, no doubt, confounded the light nines with 
carronades of that caliber, tlie latter am\ being much in use when he wrote. 



134 NAVAL HISTORY. [1782. 

discovered the qualities of a great naval captain ; failing in no es- 
sential of that distinguished character. 

The Monk, her old name having been restored, was taken into 
the service of the State of Pennsylvania,* and Avas shortly after 
sent on duty in behalf of the United States, to the West Indies. 
During this cruise, Captain Barney had a warm engagement with 
an English armed brig, supposed to have been a privateer, of about 
an equal force, but she escaped from him, the meeting occurring in 
the night, and the enemy manceuvring and sailing particularly well. 
The name of his antagonist is not known. In this aflfjiir, the Wash- 
ington received some damage in her spars, but met with no serious 
loss. 

Massachusetts and South Carolina were the two states that most 
exerted themselves, in order to equip cruisers of their own. As 
early as September, 1776, one of the vessels of the former is said to 
have captured an English sloop of war, after a sharp action ; but 
we can discover no more than general and vague accounts of the 
aflair. 

Among the vessels of Massachusetts was one named after the 
State itself, and a brig called the Tyrannicide. The latter was a 
successful cruiser, and made many captures, but she was lost in the 
unfortunate affair in the Penobscot. It is believed that the Tyran- 
nicide was built expressly for a cruiser. But the favourite officer of 
this service appears to have been Captain John Foster Williams, 
who commanded a brig called the Hazard, in 1779. In this vesse}, 
in additioii to the action already related with the Active, Captain 
Williams performed many handsome exploits, proving himself, on 
all occasions, an officer of merit. 

After quitting the Hazard, Captain Williams was transferred to 
the Protector 20, equally a state ship. In this vessel he had the two 
actions mentioned in another chapter, — that with the Duff, and that 

* The biosrapher of Conimorlore Barney lias assumed that, as the General Washing'- 
ton was employed on duty in behalf of the United States, Mr. Barney was made a cap- 
tain in the navj-. By the instructions published in this biography, it appears that the 
commissionersof Pennsylvania put the ship at the disposition of Mr. Robert Morris, m 
order to transport specie from the Havana to this country. This fact alone would not 
have made Mr. Barney a captain in the navy ; or the master of every merchantman who 
is employed hy governmejit might claim that rank. It does not make a man a captain in 
the navy, to command a frigate even, as that duty may he performed, at need, by a gun- 
ner. The commission is necessaiy to make a captain ; and this, Mr. Barney, however 
deserving of it, does not appear to have possessed until it was given to him in 1794; 
although he remained a lieutenant in the service to the clase of the war. The General 
Washington was employed by the United States down to the peace, it is true ; but this 
no more puts a ship on tlie list, than an officer of a merchantman is put on the list by his 
vessel's being hired as a transport. Government may put its officers in merchant-ships, 
and they will remain its officers ; or it may put its ships temporarily under the charge of 
merchant-officers, and the latter will not be in tlie navy. It may hire, borrow, or forci- 
bly employ vessels, without necessarily placing either the ships or their officers on its 
regular lists. It does appear, however, that the United Stales in the end owned the 
Washington ; pi-obably ihrough some subsequent arrangement with Pennsylvania ; she 
having been sold on public account. 

There is no question that Captain Barney ongTit to have been presented with the 
commission of a captain in the American navy, for the capture of the Monk ; and it is 
probably owing to the state of the war, then known to be so near a close, and to die gen- 
eral in-egularities of the service, that he was not ; but we can find no evidence thaJ 
Congress ever acquitted itself of this duty. 



1781.] NAVAL HISTORY. 135 

with the Thames, — in both of which this gallant officer greatly dis- 
tinguished himself. Soon after this brilliant cruise he resumed the 
command of the Hazard, which was also lost to the state in the un- 
fortunate expedition against the British in the Penobscot. It would 
probably have been better for Massachusetts had it named this meri- 
torious officer to the command of the naval armament on that occa- 
sion. This unhappy affair appears, in a great degree, to have put 
an end to the maritime efforts of Massachusetts, a state, however, 
that was foremost to the last, in aiding the general cause. 

Of the vessels of Carolina mention has already been made. In 
the early part of the war several light cruisers were employed, but 
as the contest advanced, this State entertained a plan of obtaining 
a few vessels of force, with an intention of striking a blow heavier 
than common against the enemy. With this view Commodore Gil- 
Ion, the officer who was at the head of its little marine, went to Eu- 
rope, and large amounts of colonial produce were transmitted to him, 
in order to raise the necesssary funds. In liis correspondence, this 
officer complains of the difficulty of procuring the right sort of ships, 
and much time was lost in fruitless negotiations for that purpose, in 
both France and Holland. At length an arrangement was entered 
into, for one vessel, that is so singular as to require particular notice. 
This vessel was the Indien, whicli had been laid down by the Amer- 
ican commissioners, at Amsterdam, and subsequently presented to 
France. She had the dimensions of a small 74, but was a frigate in 
construction, carrying, however, an armament that consisted of 28 
Swedish thirty-sixes on her gun-deck, and of 12 Swedish twelves 
on her quarter-deck and forecastle, or 40 guns in the whole. This 
ship, though strictly the property of France, had been lent by Louis 
XVI. to the Chevalier de Luxembourg, who hired her to the State of 
South Carolina for three years, on condition that the State would in- 
sure her, sail her at its own expense, and render to her owner one- 
fourtii of the proceeds of her prizes. Under this singular compact,* 
the ship, which was named the South Carolina for the occasion, got 
out in 1781, and made a successful cruise in the Narrow Seas, send- 
ing her prizes into Spain. Afterwards she proceeded to America, 
capturing ten sail, with which she went into the Havana. Here 
Commodore Gillon with a view to distress the enemy, accepted the 
command of the nautical part of an expedition against the Bahamas, 
that had been set on foot by the Spaniards, and in which other 
American cruisers joined. The expedition was successful, and the 
ship proceeded to Philadelphia. Commodore Gillon now left her, 
and after some delay, the South Carolina went to sea, in December, 
1782, under the orders of Captain Joyner, an officer who had pre- 
viously served on board her as second in command. It is probable 
that the movements of so important a vessel were watched, for she 
had scarcely cleared the capes, when, after a short running fight, 

* Chevalier de Luxembourg, was a French noblemanof the well-known family of 
Montmorency. Could the truth be come at, it is not improbable that the whole affair 
would be discovered to have been an indirect species of princely privateerbg. 



136 NAVAL HISTORY. [1782. 

shp fell into the hands of the British ship Diomede 44, having the 
Astrea 32, and the Quebec 32, in company. 

The South Carolina was much the heaviest ship that ever sailed 
under the American flag, until the new frigates were constructed 
during the war of 1812, and she is described as having been a par- 
ticularly fast vessel; but her service appears to have been greatly 
disproportioned to her means. She cost the state a large sum of 
money, and is believed to have returned literally nothing to its 
treasury. Her loss excited much comment. 

Admiral Arbuthnot reports among the "rebel ships of war" taken 
or sunk at the capture of Charleston, "the Bricole, pierced for 60, 
mounting 44 guns, twenty-four and eightcen-pounders," &c. As 
there never was a vessel of this name in the navy of the United 
States, it is probable that this ship was another heavy frigate obtained 
by the State of South Carolina, in Europe. Although this state had 
the pecuniary means to equip a better marine than common, it had 
neither vessels, building yards, nor seamen. Most of its vessels 
were purchased, and its seamen were principally obtained from 
places out of its limits, Commodore Gillon and Captain Joyner being 
both natives of Holland. 

We shall now briefly allude to a few private armed cruisers, and 
close the narrative of the naval events connected with the Revolution. 
Of the general history of this part of the warfare of the period, the 
reader will have obtained some idea from our previous accounts; but 
it may be well here to give a short but more connected summary of 
its outlines. 

The first proceedings of Congress in reference to assailing the 
British commerce, as has been seen, were reserved and cautious. 
War not being regularly declared, and an accommodation far from 
hopeless, the year 1775 was suffered to pass away without granting 
letters of marque and reprisal; for it was the interest of the nation 
to preserve as many friends in England as possible. As the breach 
widened, this forbearing policy was abandoned, and the summer of 
1776 let loose the nautical enterprise of the country upon the British 
commerce. The efl^ect at first was astounding. Never before had 
England found an enemy so destructive to her trade, and during the 
two first years of the privateering that followed, something like eight 
hundred sail of merchantmen were captured. After this period, the 
".ffbrt of the Americans necessarily lessened, while the precautions 
of the enemy increased. Still, these enterprises proved destructive, 
*o the end of the war; and it is a proof of the eflSciency of this class 
of cruisers to the last, that small privateers constantly sailed out of 
Ithe English ports, with a view to make money by recapturing their 
own vessels ; the trade of America, at this time, oflering but iew 
inducements to such undertakings. 

Among the vessels employed as private cruisers, the Holker, the 
Black Prince, the Pickering, the Wild Cat, tiie Vengeance, the 
Marll)orough, in addition to those elsewhere named, were very con- 
spicuous. The first sailed under different commanders, and with 
almost uniform success. The Marlborough is said to have made 



1783.] NAVAL HISTORY. 137 

twenty-eight prizes in one cruise. Other vessels were scarcely less 
fortunate. Many sharp actions occurred, and quite as often to the 
advantaoe of these cruisers as to that of the enemy. In repeated 
instances they escaped from British ships of war, under unfavourable 
circumstances, and there is no question, that in few cases, they 
captured them. 

To this list ought also to be added the letters of marque, which, 
in many cases, did great credit to themselves and to the country. 
Captain Murray, since so well known to the service, made one of 
the most desperate defences on record, in one of these vessels, near 
the close of the war; and Captain Truxtun, whose name now occu- 
pies so high a station among those of the naval captains of the 
republic, made another, in the St. James, while conveying an Ameri- 
can agent to France, which was so highly appreciated that it probably 
opened the way to the rank that he subsequently filled. 

The English West India trade, in particular, suftered largely by 
the private warfare of the day. Two-and-fifty sail, engaged in this 
branch of the commei-ce, are stated to have been taken as early as 
February, 1777. The whole number of captures made by the 
Americans in this contest, is not probably known, but six hundred 
and fifty prizes are said to have been got into port. Many others 
were ransomed, and some were destroyed at sea. There can be no 
minute accuracy in these statements, but the injury done to the eom- 
mei-ce of Great Britain was enormous ; and there is no doubt that 
the constant hazards it run, had a dii'ect influence in obtaining the 
acknowledgment of the Independence of the United States of Ameri- 
ca, which great event took place on the 20th of January, 1783. 

Thus terminated the first war in which America was engaged as a 
separate nation, after a struggle that had endui'ed seven years and 
ten months. Orders of recall were immediately given to the different 
cruisers, and the commissions of all privateei's and lettei'S of marque 
were revoked. The proclamation announcing a cessation of hostili- 
ties was made on the lltli of April, when the war finally terminated 
at all points. 



CHAPTER Xm. 



Brief review — List of vessels in the navy between 1775 and '83, and the fate of each — 
Desrription of the America 74 — she is presented to tlie king of France — Capt. Manly, 
anecdote of his first capture— -Capture and imprisonment of Capt. Couyngham— -Most 
distinguished naval officers of the Revolution— -The American marine- -its difficulties- 
Crew of a vessel of war-— its composition— -Congress estabUshes a marine corps-— List 
of officers first appointed— value of the corps— -What vessel first carried the Ameri- 
can flag. 

Before we proceed to give an account of the state in which the 
war left the American marine, a brief i-eview of its general condition, 
throughout, and at the close of the struggle, may be found useful. 



138 NAVAL HISTORY. [1775-83. 

When the law of 1775 was passed, directing the construction of the 
first frigates, for the twenty-eights and twenty-fours are included in 
this ckiss, different building stations were selected, at points thought 
to be least exposed to the enemy. The vessel that was laid down in 
New Hampshire, was said to have been put into the water in sixty 
days from the time the work commenced. But all this activity was 
of httle avail, the want of guns, anchors, rigging, or of some other 
material article, interfering with the rapid equipment of nearly every 
one of the thirteen ships. 

The vessel just mentioned was the Raleigh, and her career can be 
traced in our previous pages. 

The two sliips constructed in Massachusetts, the Hancock and 
Boston, got to sea; fortius part of the countiy was little annoyed by 
the enemy after the evacuation of Boston ; and their fortunes arc also 
to be found in our pages. 

The Rhode Island ships were the AVarren and Providence. * These 
vessels are described as having been the most indilferent of the thir- 
teen. They were launched in 1776, and their services and fates have 
been given. 

The Montgomery and Congress were the vessels ordered to be 
built in New York. These sliips, it is believed, were constructed at, 
or near Poughkeepsie, on the Hudson, and did not get to sea, as the 
British held the mouth of tlie river from August, 1776, to November, 
178-J. They were burned in 1777, in order to prevent them from 
falling into the hands of the enemy, when Sir Henry Clinton took 
the forts in the highlands. 

The name of the Maryland ship was the Virginia, and her hard 
ibrtune has been recorded, in the course of the eventsof the year 1778. 

Pennsylvania had the four I'emaiuing vessels, the Randolph, the 
Washington, the Delaware, and the Effingham. Of the first it is 
unnecessary to say any thing, as her fate is identified with the glory 
of the service. If the Delaware ever got to sea, we find no traces of 
her movements. She was erpiipped certainly, and most probably 
blockaded, falling into the hands of the enemy when they got pos- 
session of Philadelphia. The other two were burned in CajDtain 
Henry's expedition up the river, in 1778, as has been related. 

Thus of the thirteen vessels from which so much was expected, 
but six got to sea at all, in the service in which they wei"e built. To 
these were added, in the course of the war, a few other frigates, some 
permanently, and some only for single cruises. Of the former class 
were the Deane, (Hague,) Alliance, Confederacy, and Queen of 
France. It is believed that these four ships, added to the thirteen 
ordered by the law of 1775, and the Alfred and CoIum!)us, will com- 
prise all the frigate-built vessels that properly belonged to the marine 
of the country, during the war of the Revolution. The French 
vessels that composed most of the squadron of Paul Jones were lent 
for th(! occasion, and we hear no more of the Pallas after the cruise 
had ended. She reverted to her original owners. 

Of the sloops of war and smaller vessels it is now difficult to give 
a complete and authentic account. Several were employed by the 



1775-83.] NAVAL HISTORY. 139 

commissioners in France, which it is impossible to trace. Congress 
occasionally borrowed vessels of the states, and generally with their 
officers and crews on board. Of this class of vessels was the General 
Washington, (late General Monk,) which unquestionably belonged 
to tiie State of Pennsylvania, when first equij)ped, though she ap- 
pears to have been subsequently transferred to the General Govern- 
ment, by which she was employed as a packet, as late as the year* 
1784, when she was sold on public account. 

Under such circumstances, and with the defective materi;ils that 
are now to be obtained, the difficulty of making a perfect list of the 
vessels that were in the navy during the war of the Revolution is fully 
felt, and yet, without some such record, this book will have an air of 
incompleteness. One, that has been corrected with care, is ac- 
cordingly given, and as nothing is admitted into it, without authority, 
it is believed to be correct as far as it goes ; its defects beiiiij those 
of omission, rather than positive errors. Annexed to the name of 
each vessel is her fate, as an American cruiser, so far as the facts 
can be ascertained. 

List oj vessels of war in the American navy between the years 1775 

and 1783. 
Alliance 33, sold after the peace and converted into an Indiaman.* 
Deane (Hague) 32. 

Virginians, taken by a British squadron near the capes of the Ches- 
apeake, before getting to sea, 1778. 
Confederacy 33, taken by a ship of the line, off the capes of Virginia, 

June 3:2d, 178i. 
Hancock 33, taken in 1777, by Rainbow 44, and Victor 16. Flora 

33, retook her prize. 
Randolph 'i'l, blown up in action with the Yarmouth 64, in 1778. 
Raleigh 33, taken by the Experiment 50, and Unicorn 33, 1778. 
Washington 33, destroyed in the Delaware by the British army, 

1778, without getting to sea. 
Warren 33, burned in the Penobscot in 1779, to prevent her falling 

into the enemy's hands. 
Queen of France 38, captured at Charleston in 1780. 
Providence 38, do. do. do. 

Trumbull 38, taken by the Iris 33, and General Monk 18, 1781. 
Effingham 38, burned by the enemy in the Delaware, 1778, without 

getting to sea. 
Congress 38, destroyed in the Hudson, 1777, to prevent her falHng 

into the enemy's hands, without getting to sea. 
Alfred 34, captured by tlie Ariadne and Ceres, in 1778. 
Columbus 30. 

Delaware 34, captured by the British army in the Delaware, in 1777. 
Boston 34, captured at Ciiarleston, in 1780. 

JNIontgomery 34, destroyed in the Hudson without getting to sea, 1777. 
Haniden 14. 
Reprisal IG, foundered at sea, 1778. 'V 

*Her wreck still lies on an island in the Delaware. 



140 NAVAL HISTORY. [1775-83. 

Lexington 14, taken by the British cutter Alert, in the channel, 1778. 
Andrea Doria 14, burned in the Delaware, 1777, to prevent her 

falling into the enemy's hands. 
Cabot 16, driven ashore by the Milford 32, in 1777, and abandoned. 
Ranger 18, captured at Charleston by the British army, 1780. 
Saratoga 16, lost at sea in 1780 ; never heard of. 
Diligent 14, burned in the Penobscot, 1778. 
Gates 14. 
Hornet 10. 

Surprise 10, seized by the French government, in 1777. 
Revenge 10, sold in 1780. 

Providence 12, taken in the Penobscot in 1779. 
Sachem 10 1 Supposed to have been destroyed in the 

Wasp 8 I Delaware by the enemy, or by the Ameri- 

Independence 10 [ cans, to prevent their falling into the enemy's 
Dol])hin 10 J hands. 

To these vessels must be added the following ships, which appear 
to have made one or more cruises under the American flag, com- 
manded by American oflicers, and manned, in part, by American 
seamen. 
Bon Homme Richard 40, sunk after her action with the Serapis 44, 

in 1779. 
Pallas 32, left the service Avhen the cruise was ended. 
Vengeance 12, do. do. do. 

CerflS, do. do. do. 

Ariel 20, borrowed by the commissioners from the king of France, 

and supposed to have been returned. 

These lists contain nearly, if not quite all the vessels of any size 
that properly belonged to the navy of the American Confederation. 
There were several more small cruisers, mounting from 4 to 10 guns, 
but their service appears to have been as uncertain as their fates, 
though, like the privateers, most of them, it is believed, fell into the 
hands of their powerful and numerous foes. Several ships, also, 
appear to have belonged to the government, such as the Due de 
Lauzun, the Luzerne, Washington, «fcc., that we do not think en- 
titled to be classed among its regular cruisers. 

Most of the popular accounts make the America 74, the first two- 
decked ship ever built within the limits of the United States. That 
this is an error, has already been shown, in one of our earlier pages, 
and there is reason to suppose that the English caused several small 
vessels on two decks to be constructed in the American colonies, 
previously to the war of the Revolution. It would have been more 
accurate to have stated that the America was the heaviest sliip that 
had been laid down in the country, at the time she was built. This 
vessel was captured from the French, by the British, in the engage- 
ment of llie 1st of June.* 

* We give the following- outline of the description of the America, as left oy Patil 
Jones, to show -what were then rleenicd peculiarities in the constraction of a ship of the 
line. Tilt: upper deck bulwarks are particularly described as " breast-works pierced for 
guns," and he adds, that all the quarter-deck and forecastle e-uns could be fought, at need, ' 



1775-83.] NAVAL HISTORY. 141 

The management of the httlenavy that the United States possessed 
during- this long and important struggle, was necessarily much con- 
trolled by circumstances. When the conflict commenced, it could 
scarcely be termed a war, and the country hardly possessed an organ- 
ised government at all. It had been the policy of England to keep 
her colonies as dependent as possible on herself for all manufactured 
articles ; and when the Revolution broke out, the new states were 
almost destitute of the means of carrying on the struggle. Much as 
has been said and written on tins subject, the world scarcely seems 
to possess an accurate notion of the embarrassments to which the 
Americans were subjected in consequence of deficiencies of this na- 
ture. The first important relief was obtained through the cruisers, 
and it is scarcely saying too much to add, that, without the succours 
that were procured in this manner, during the years 1775 and 1776, 
the Revolution must have been checked in the outset.* 

In addition to the direct benefits conferred by the captures, the 
marine was of incalculable advantage in bringing Europe in contact 
with America, by showing the flag and ships of the new country in 
the old world. Notwithstanding the many obstacles that were to be 
overcome, the high maritime spirit of the nation broke through all 
restraints ; and in defiance of an enemy that almost possessed 
ubiquity, as well as an overwhelming power, the conflict between 
Britain and her despised and oppressed colonies had not continued 
a twelvemonth, when the coasts of the former country were harassed 
and agitated by the audacity and enterprise of the American cruisers. 
Insurance rose to a height hitherto unknown, and for the first time 
in her history, England felt the effects which a people thoroughly 
imbued with a love of maritime adventure, could produce on a nation 
so commercial. 

The activity and merit of the brave men who first carried the war 
into the enemy's seas, have not been fully appreciated by the present 
age. Foremost ought to be placed the name of Wickes,vvho led the 
way, and who appears to have performed the duty confided to him, 
with discretion, spirit, and steadiness. The untimely fate of this 

on one side ; from which it is to be inferred that the ship had ports in her waist. The poop 
had a " foldini?breasi-vvorlt,"grape-sliot proof, or bulwarks that were lowered and hoisted 
in a minute. The quarter deck ran four feet foi-ward of the mainmast, and the forecastle 
came well aft. The gangways were wide, and on the level of the quarter-deck and fore- 
castle. The ship had only single quarter galleries, and no stern galleiy. She had 50 feet 
6 Inches beam, over all, and her inboard length, on the upper gun-deck, was 182 feet 6 
inches. "Yet this ship, thovf^h the lar^^est of seventy-fours in the world, had, when the 
lower battery was sunk, the air of a delicate frigate ; and no person, at the distance of a 
mile, could haveimagined she had a second battery." Unfortunately her intended arma- 
ment is not given. 

* The following anecdote rests on the authority of the secretai-y of the Marine Com- 
mittee of Congress, the body that discharged the duties that are now performed by the 
navy department. The committee was in secret session, deliberating on the means of 
obtaining certain small articles that were indispensable to the equipment of vessels of 
war, but which were not to be had in the country, when a clamour for admittance at the 
door, interrupted the proceedings. Admittance was denied, but the intruder insisted on 
entering. The door was finally opened, when a gentleman appeared, with an inventory 
of the stores found in the Nancy, the first vessel talien by Captain Manly, and among 
which were the very articles v^'anted. Mr. Adams, when the fact was ascertained, arose 
and said with earnestness:— -"We must succeed— -Providence is with us— -we must 
succeed !" 



142 NAVAL HISTORY. [1775-83. 

gallant officer, who had obtained the respect and confidence of the 
American commissioners, was probably the reason that his name 
does not fill as high a place in the public estimation as his services 
merit. 

Captain Conyngham, also, to his other claims, adds that of suffer- 
ing. He fell into the hands of the enemy, after his return to the 
American seas, while cruising in a small private armed vessel, and 
was sent to England in irons, with a threat to treat him as a ])irate. 
His imprisonment was long and severe ; nor was his liberty obtained, 
until months of bitter privation had been passed in a gaol. 

The naval names that have descended to us, from this war, with 
the greatest reputation, are those of Jones, Barry, Barney, Biddle, 
Manly, Nicholson, Wickes, Rathburne, Conyngham, and Hacker. 
To these may be added that of Williams, who was in the service of 
Massachusetts. Other officers greatly distinguished themselves, 
either in-subordinate stations on board vessels of war, or on board the 
different cruisers. Many of the latter subsequently rose to high 
stations in the national marine, and we shall have occasion to allude 
to their conduct in our subsequent pages. 

The nature of the warfare, unquestionably trammelled the national 
efforts in this contest. The circumstance that only six out of thirteen 
new cruisers that were laid down under the law of October, 1775, 
ever got to sea, shows the difficulties with which the country had to 
contend on account of so many of its ports having been occupied by 
invading armies, of a force and discipline that no power ot the young 
republic could then withstand. No less than six of these vessels fell 
into the enemy's hands, by means of their land forces, or were de- 
stroyed by the Americans themselves, to prevent such a result. In 
New York, the British held the port, of all others, which would have 
been of the greatest service to the country, in a naval war, as its cen- 
tral position, many natural advantages, difficulty of being blockaded 
on account of a double outlet, and resources, will always render it the 
centre of maritime operations, in every struggle for the command of 
the American seas. 

But the greatest obstacles with which the young marine had to con- 
tend, were a total absence of system, a looseness of discipline, and a 
want of vessels of force. The irregularities of the service, it is true, 
grew out of the exigencies of the times, but their evils were incalcu- 
lable. Rank, that great source of contention in all services in which 
it is not cleai'ly defined and rigidly regulated, appears to have cre- 
ated endless heart-burnings. The dissensions of the officers, natu- 
rally communicated themselves to the men ; and in time, this diffi- 
culty was added to the others which existed in obtaining crews. It 
is a singular fact, that, with the exception perhaps of that favourite 
ship, the Alliance, we cannot find that any frigate-built vessel left the 
country, after the first year or two of the war, with a full crew on 
board of her; and even those with which they did sail, were either 
composed, in a good measure, of landsmen, or the officers had been 
compelled to resort to the dangerous expedient of seeking for volun- 
teers among the prisoners. We have seen that the Alliance herself, 



1775-83.] NAVAL HISTORY. 143 

with her precious freight, was near being the sacrifice of this ill-judg- 
ed, not to say unjust poHcy. The Trumbull, wlien taken, was foujjht 
principally by her otficers ; and, at the very moment when confidence 
was of the last importance to success, the vessels of Paul Jones' 
squadron appear to have distrusted each other, and to have acted with 
the uncertainty of such a state of feeling. 

To the lightness of the metal used during this war, is to be ascribed 
the duration of the combats. It has been seen, that the Bon Honmne 
Richard had a few cighteen-pounders mounted in her gun-room ; 
and there are occasional allusions in the accounts of the day, that 
would induce us to believe that some of the larger vessels built for the 
service, had a few guns of this caliber, mixed in with their more reg- 
ular armaments ; but, strictly speaking, there was not a ship in the 
American navy, duringthe whole war of the Revolution, that ought 
to be termed more than a twelve-pounder frigate. The America 74, 
would have been an exception, of course, could slie properly be said 
to have belonged to the service, but she was virtually transferred to 
France previously to being put into the water. The Bon Homme 
Richard had the dimensions of, and was pierced for a thirty-eight, but 
her regular and only efllicient batteries, were composed of twelves and 
nines. The Indien, or South Carolina, as she was subsequently 
called, was probably as heavy a frigate as then floated ; but she 
sailed in the service of the single state of South Carolina, and never 
belonged to the marine of the country. 

No correct estimate can be ever made of the merits of the gallant 
seamen, whose acts have been recorded in these pages, without keep- 
ing in constant view, all the disadvantages under which they served. 
With vessels, quite often imperfectly equipjjed; frequently with such 
guns, ammunition and stores, as are known to be disposed of to na- 
tions, the necessities of which supersede caution ; with crews badly, 
often dangerously composed, and without the encouragement that 
power can profler to success, these faithful men Avent forth upon an 
ocean that was covered with the cruisers of their enemy, to contend 
with foes every way prepared for war, who were incited by all that 
can awaken ambition, and who met them with the confidence that is 
the inseparable companion of success and a consciousness of force. 

While pointing out the claims of tlie seamen of the Revolution to 
tliat honourable place in history which it is our aim to contribute in 
securing to them, there is another corps, one that has so long been 
associated with navies as to be almost necessarily included in their 
renown, which is entitled to a distinct notice in these pages. It is so 
much a matter of course, to identify the marines with the ship in 
which they serve, that we have not hitherto thought it necessary to 
digress from the course of events to speak particularly of that body 
of men. The corps, however, is so necessary to the military char- 
acter of every service, has ever been so efficient and useful, not only 
in carrying on the regular routine of duty, but in face of the enemy, 
and was so all-important to the security of the ships, during the jieriod 
of which we have been writing, that we have reserved a place for a 
brief account of its organisation in this chapter. In order that the 



144 NAVAL HISTORY. [1775-83. 

general reader may more clearly comprehend this branch of the 
subject, however, and obtain a better idea of the composition of the 
crew of a vessel of war, a paragraph will be devoted to a kw expla- 
nations. 

The men of a public armed ship are divided into two distinct 
bodies; the portion of the people that do the ordinary duty of the 
vessel, which includes the petty officers, seamen, ordinary seamen, 
landsmen and boys, and the marines. The former pass under the 
general name of sailors, while the latter are always known by their 
own distinctive appellation. The marines are strictly infantry sol- 
diers, who are trained to serve afloat ; and their discipline, equip- 
ments, spirit, cliaracter, and esprit de corps, are altogether those of 
an army. The marines impart to a ship of war, in a great degree, 
its high military character. They furnish all the guards and senti- 
nels ; in battle tliey repel, or cover the assaults of boarders ; and, at 
all times, they sustain and protect the stern and necessary discipline 
of a ship by their organisation, distinctive character, training, and we 
might add, nature. It is usual to place one of these soldiers on 
board a ship of war for each gun, though the rule is not absolute. It 
is not, however, to be understood by this, that the marines are regu- 
larly dispersed in the ship, by placing them at the guns, as, unless in 
cases that form exceptions, they act together, under their own officers, 
using the musket and bayonet as their proper weapons. 

Aware of the importance of such a body of men, on the 9th of 
November, 1775, or before any regular cruiser had yet got to sea, 
Congress passed a law establishing a marine corps. By this law, the 
corps was to consist of two battalions of the usual size, and to be 
commanded by a colonel. A resolution passed on the 30th of the 
same month, directing that these two battalions should not be drafted 
from the army before Boston, but regularly enlisted for the war. It 
does not appear that this law was ever carried into complete eflect ; 
the great difficulty which existed in obtaining men for the army, no 
less than the impracticability of getting so many of the vessels to sea, 
most probably contributing to defeat its objects. On the 25th June, 
1776, notwithstanding, the corps received something like the con- 
templated organisation, and officers were appointed to serve in it. 
That there were marines in the squadron of Commodore Hopkins, 
is known from the fact of their having been landed at New Provi- 
dence, where they were the assailing force ; but even the greater 
portion of the sea officers, employed on that occasion, had merely 
letters of appointment, and, it is to be presumed, that such was also 
the case with the gentlemen of this arm. The following list of the 
officers of the marine corps, Avho were appointed in June, 1776, con- 
tains the names of those who properly formed the nucleusof this im- 
portant and respectable part of the navy. 

Officers of Marines appointed June 25^/«, 1776. 
Samuel Nichols, Major. 
Andrew Porter, Captain. 
Joseph Hardy, do. 



1775-83.] NAVAL HISTORY. 145 

Samuel Shaw, Captain. 

Benj. Deane, do. 

Robert Mullin, do. 

John Stewart, do. 

Daniel Henderson, First Lieutenant. 

David Lowe, do. 

FrankUn Read, ^ do. 

Peregrine Brown, do. 

Thomas Barnwell, do. 

James McClure, Second Lieutenant 

William Gilmore, do. 

Abel Morgan, do. 

Hugh Montgomery, do. 

Richard Harrison, do. 

Other nominations followed, from time to time, though it is be- 
lieved that in many cases, officers commanding ships, were em- 
powered to give letters of appointment. In short, the irregularity 
and want of system that prevailed in the navy generally, extended 
in a degree to a branch of it that is usually so trained, so methodical 
and certain. 

At no period of the naval history of the world, is it probable that 
marines were more important than during the war of the Revolu- 
tion. In many instances they preserved the vessels to the country, 
by suppressing the turbulence of their ill-assorted crews, and the ef- 
fect of their fire, not only then, but in all the subsequent conflicts, 
under those circumstances in which it could be resorted to, has 
usually been singularly creditable to their steadiness and discipline.. 
The history of the navy, even at that early day, as well as in these- 
later times, abounds with instances of the gallantry and self-devo- 
tion of this body of soldiers, and we should be unfaithful to our trusty 
were we not to add, that it also furnishes too may proofs of the for- 
getfulness of its merits by the country. The marine incurs the same 
risks fi-om disease and tempests, undergoes the same privations, suf- 
fers the same hardships, and sheds his blood in the same battles as 
the seaman, and society owes him the same rewards. While on 
shipboard necessity renders him in a certain sense, the subordinate, 
but nations ought never to overlook the important moral and politi- 
cal truth, that the highest lessons they can teach are those of justice ;, 
and no servant of the public should pass a youth of toil and danger, 
without the consciousness of possessing a claim to a certain and 
honourable reward, that is dependent only on himself. That this 
reward has hitherto been as unwisely as it has been unfairly withheld, 
from all connected with the navy, it is our duty as historians to state, 
and in no instance has this justice been more signally denied, than, 
in the case of the honourable and gallant corps of which we are par-- 
ticularly writing. 

It remains only to say that the navy of the Revolution, like its 
army, was disbanded at the termination of the struggle, literally 
leaving nothing behind it, but the recollections of its services and 
sufferings. 

VOL. I. 10 



146 NAVAL HISTORY. [1783. 



CHAPTER XIV 

First vessel to China— -Adoption of the Union— -its effect on the navy— -Difficulties with 
tlie Dey of Algiers-— John PaulJones appointed constil— -His death at Paris— Capture 
of American vessels by an Algurine squadron-— Warlike preparations— -Mr. Hum- 
phrey's models for six new frigates accepted--the improvements described— -Notice 
of llie conmianders selected— -Treaty with Algiers— -The Crescent made a present to 
the Dey— -Singular extract from a journal respecting her freight— -Frencli aggres- 
sions— -Launch of the United States, the Constitution, and the Constellation-— Navy 
department created— -The capture of French cruisers authorised by law— -New marine 
corps established-— Whole authcdised force of the navy. 

The peace of 1783 found the finances of the new repubhc aho- 
gether unequal to the support of a marine. Most of the pubhc 
cruisers, as has been seen, had failen into tlie hands of the enemy, 
or had been destroyed, and the few that remained were sold. The 
Alliance, which appears to have been the favourite ship of the ser- 
vice to the very last, was reluctantly parted with ; but a survey 
being held on her, she was also disposed of in September, 1785, in 
preference to encountering the expenses of repairs. 

Although the United States now kept no vessels of war, several 
of the states themselves, with the consent of Congress, which was 
necessary by the articles of confederation, had small cruisers of their 
own, that did the duties of guarda-costas and revenue cutters. At 
this period in the history of the country, it will be remembered that 
each^ state had its own custom-houses, levied its own duties, and 
pursued its own policy in trade, with the single exception that it 
could not contravene any stipulation by treaty that had been en- 
tered into by Congress. 

After the peace, the trade of the United States revived, as a matter 
of course, though it had to contend with many difiiculties, besides 
the impoverished condition of the country. It has been a matter of 
question what vessel first carried the American flag into the Chinese 
seas, but there can be no doubt that it was the ship Empress of China, 
Captain Green, which sailed from New York, the 22d of February, 
1784, and returned to the same port on the 11th of May, 1785. 
This vessel, however, did not make a direct voyage, touching in 
Europe, on her outward-bound passage; and the honour of going 
direct belongs to the Enterprise, Captain Dean, a sloop of 80 tons, 
built in Albany, which went and returned in 1785. It ought to be 
mentioned, to the credit of the English factory at Canton, that, 
notwithstanding the jealousies and interests of trade, which, perhaps, 
oftener lead to unprincipled acts, than any other one concern of 
life, struck with the novelty and boldness of the experiment, it re- 
ceived these adventurers with kindness and hospitality. In 1787 the 
Alliance frigate, converted into an Indiainan, went to Canton, under 
the command of Captain Thomas Read, formerly of the navy. This 
officer took a new route, actually going to the southward of New 
Holland, in conseqnence of the season of the year, which had brought 
him into the unfavourable monsoons. Notwithstanditig this long 



1789.] NAVAL HISTORY. 147 

circuit, tlie noble old ship made the passage in very tolerable time. 
Captain Read discovered some islands to the eastward of New 
Holland. 

The period between the peace and the year ]7s8, was one of 
troubles, insurrections in the states, and difficulties growing out of 
the defective political organisation of the country. To these griev- 
ances may be added the embarrassments arising from the renewal 
of the claims ot the British merchants, that had been suspended by 
the war. All these circumstances united to produce uncertainty and 
distress. Discreet men saw the necessity of a change of system, and 
the results of the collected wisdom of the nation were oflered to the 
world in a plan for substituting the constitution of an identified 
government, in the place of the articles of association, and of creating 
what has since been popularly termed the Union, in lieu of the old 
Confederation. The scheme was adopted, and in April 1789, the 
new govei-nment went into operation, with Washington at its head, 
as President. 

The entire military organisation underwent many important alter- 
ations, by this change of government. The President became the 
commander-in-chief of both the army and navy, and he possessed 
the civil power of appointin<i their officers, subject only to the appro- 
bation of a senate, which was also instituted on this occasion, and to 
a few subordinate regulations of Congress. In addition to this high 
trust, was confided to him one of still heavier responsibilities, by 
which he could dismiss any civil or military officer, the judges ex- 
cepted, however high his rank, or long his services. The supplies 
were raised directly by the federal power, without the intervention 
of the states; and the entire government, within the circle of its 
authority, became as direct and as efficient as that of any other polity 
which possessed the representative form. 

The beneficial consequences of these fundamental alterations were 
visible in all the departments of the country. It was deemed pre- 
mature, nevertheless, to think of the re-establishment of a marine; 
for, oppressed with debt, and menaced with a renewal of the war 
with England, the administration of Washington was cautiously, and 
with the greatest prudence, endeavouring to extricate the country 
from the various entanglements that were perhaps inseparable from 
its peculiar condition, and to set in motion the machinery of a new 
and an entirely novel mode of conducting the affiiirs of a state. While 
Washington, and his ministers, appeared to be fully sensible of the 
importance of a navy, the poverty of the treasury alone would have 
been deemed an insuperable objection to encountering its expense. 
Still, so evident was the connexion between an efficient government 
and a permanent and strong marine, in a country like this, that when 
Paul Jones first heard of the change, he prepared to return to Ameri- 
ca in the confident hope of being again employed. 

In the mean time, the Dey of Algiers, discovering that a new 
country had started into existence, which possessed merchant vessels 
and no cruisers, as a matter of course began to prey on its commerce. 
On the •2.>th of July, 17S5, the schooner Maria, belonging to Boston, 



148 NAVAL HISTORY. [lldi. 

was seized, outside of the Straits of Gibraltar, by a corsair, and her 
crew were carried into slavery. This unprovoked piracy, — though 
committed under the forms of a legal government, the act deserves 
this reproach, — was followed, on the 30th of the same month, by the 
capture of the ship Dolphin, of Philadelphia, Captain O'Brien, who, 
with all his people, was made to share the same fate. On the 9th 
of July, 1790, or a twelvemonth after the organisation of the federal 
government, there still remained in captivity, fourteen of the unfortu- 
nate persons who had been thus seized. Of course five bitter years 
had passed in slavery, because, at the period named, the United 
States of America, the country to which they belonged did not pos- 
sess sufficient naval force to compel the petty tyrant at the head of 
the Algerine government to do justice! In looking back at events 
like these, we feel it difficult to persuade ourselves that the nation 
was really so powerless, and cannot but suspect that in the strife of 
parties, the struggles of opinion, and the pin-suit of gain, the suffer- 
ings of the distant captive were overlooked or forgotten. One of the 
first advantages of the new system, was connected with the measures 
taken by the administration of Washington to relieve these unfortu- 
nate persons. A long and weary negotiation ensued, and Paul Jones 
was appointed, in 1792, to be an agent for effecting the liberation of 
the captives. At the same time, a commission was also sent to him, 
naming him consul at the regency of Algiers. This celebrated man, 
for whose relief these nominations were probably made, was dead 
before the arrival of the different commissions at Paris. A second 
agent was named in the person of Mr. Barclay; but this gentleman 
also died before he could enter on the duties of the office. 

Algiers and Portugal had long been at war, and, though the latter 
government seldom resorted to active measures against the toAvn of 
its enemy, it was very useful to the rest of the Christian world, by 
maintaining a strong force in the Straits of Gibraltar, rendering it 
difficult for any rover to find her way out of the Mediterranean. 
Contrary to all expectations, this war was suddenly terminated in 
1793, through the agency of the British consul at Algiers, and, as it 
was said, without the knov/lcdge of the Portuguese government. This 
peace or truce, allowed the Algerine rovers to come again into 
the Atlantic, and its consequences to the American commerce were 
soon apparent. A squadron consisting of four ships, three xebecks, 
and a brig, immediately passed the straits, and by the 9th of October, 
1793, four more American vessels had fallen into the hands of these 
lawless barbarians. At the same time, the Dey of Algiers, who had 
commenced this quarrel without any other pretence than a demand 
for tribute, refused all accommodations, even menacing the person 
of the minister appointed by the American government, should he 
venture to appear within his dominions ! During the first cruise 
of the vessels mentioned, they captured ten Americans, and made 
one hundred and five additional prisoners. 

These depredations had now reached a pass when further sub- 
mission became impossible, without a total abandonment of those 
rights, that it is absolutely requisite for every independent govern- 



1794.] NAVAL HISTORY. 149 

mcnt to maintain. The cabinet took the subject into grave dehber- 
ation, and on the 3d of March, 1794, the President sent a message 
to Congress, communicating all the facts connected with the Algerine 
depredations. On the 27th of the same month, a law was approved 
by the executive, authorising the construction, or the purchase of 
six frigates, or of such other naval force, that should no.t be inferior 
to that of the six frigates named, as the President might see fit to 
order, provided no vessel should mount less than 32 guns. This law 
had a direct reference to the existing difficulties with Algiers, and it 
contained a paragraph ordering that all proceedings under its pro- 
visions should cease, in the event of an accommodation of the quarrel 
with that regency. Notwithstanding this limit to the action of the 
law, the latter may be considered the first step taken towards the 
establishment of the present navy, as some of the ships that were 
eventually constructed under it are still in use, and some of the offi- 
cers who were appointed to them, passed the remainder of their lives 
in the service. 

The executive was no sooner authorised to proceed by the law of 
the 27ih of March, 1794, than measures were taken to build the ves- 
sels ordered. The provision of the first paragraph was virtually fol- 
lowed, and the six frigates were laid down as soon as possible. These 
vessels were the 

Constitution 44, laid down at Boston. 

President 44, " New York. 

United States 44, " Philadelphia. 

Chesapeake 38, " Portsmouth, Va. 

Constellation 38, " Baltimore. 

Congress 38, " Portsmouth, N. H. 

The most capable builders in the country were consulted, the 
models of ]V[r. .Joshua Humphreys, of Philadelphia* being those ac- 
cepted. On this occasion, an important and recent improvement in 
shi])-buikling was adopted, by which frigates were increased in size 
and in efficiency, by so far lengthening them, as to give to ships on 
one deck, the metal that had formerly been distributed on two. The 
three ships first mentioned in the foregoing list, were of this class of 
vessels, being pierced for thirty twenty-four-pounders, on their gun- 
decks, while their upper-deck armaments varied with circumstances. 
On this occasion they were rated as forty-fours, a description of ves- 
sel that had previously borne its guns on two decks, besides the 
quarter-deck and forecastle. The others were of the force of the 
common English thirty-eights, carrying 28 eighteens below, and as 
many lighter guns above as was deemed expedient. From a want 
of system, the Chesapeake was known in the accounts of the day as 
a forty-four, and she even figures in the reports under the law, as a 
vessel of that rate, owing to the circumstance that she was originally 
intended for a ship of that force and size. In consequence of a ditli- 

* The idea of constnicting- ships of heavy metal, on one deck, has been claimed for this 
architect. With whom the thought origiiiated we do not pretend to say. The Indien, 
within llie revolution, was certainly a vessel of that class, and the English had a few 
tweuty-four-pouuder frigates as early as the Americans. 



150 NAVAL HISTORY. [1795. 

ciilty in obtaining the necessary frame, her dimensions were lessened, 
and she took her place in the navy, by the side of the two vessels last 
mentioned on the foregoing list. But so much inaccuracy existed 
at that day, and the popular accounts abound with so many errors of 
this nature, that we shall find many occasions to correct similar mis- 
takes, before we reach a period when the service was brought within 
the rules of a uniform and consistent syst(.'ni. 

In selecting commanders for these ships, the President very natu- 
rally turned to those old officers who had proved themselves fit for 
the stations, during the war of the Revolution. Many of the naval 
captains of that tryingperiod, however, were already dead, and others, 
again, had become incapacitated by age and wounds, for the arduous 
duties of sea-officers. The following is the list selected, which took 
rank in the order in which the names appear, viz : — 
John Barry, Joshua Barney, 

Samuel Nicholson, Richard Dale, 

Silas Talbot, Thomas Truxtun. 

"With the exception of Captain Truxtun, all of these gentlemen 
had served in the navy during the Revolution. Captain Bariy was 
the only one of the six who was not born in America, but he had 
passed nearly all his life in it, and was thoroughly identified with 
his adopted country in feeling and interests. He had often distin- 
guished himself during the preceding war, and, perhaps, of all the 
naval captains that remained, he was the one who possessed the 
greatest reputation for experience, conduct and skill. The appoint- 
ment met with general approbation, nor did any thing ever occur to 
give the government reason to regret its selection. 

Captain Nicholson had served with credit in subordinate situa- 
tions, in command of the Hague, or Deane -32, and iii one instance, 
at the head of a small squadron. This officer also commanded the 
Dolphin 10, the cutter that the commissioners sent with Captain 
Wickes, in his successftd cruise in the narrow seas. 

Captain Talbot's career was singular, for though connected with 
the sea in his youth, he had entered the army, at the commencement 
of the Revolution, and was twice promoted in that branch of the ser- 
vice, for gallantry and skill on the water. This gentleman had been 
raised to the rank of a captain in the navy, in 1779, but he luul never 
been able to obtain a ship. Subsequently to the war. Captain Tal- 
bot had retired from the sea, and he had actually served one term in 
Congress. 

Captain Barney liad served as a lieutenant in many actions, and 
commanded the Pennsylvania state cruiser, the Hyder Ally, when 
she took the General Monk. This officer declined his appointment 
in consequence of having been put junior to Lieut. Colonel Talbot, 
and Ca])tain Sever was named in his place. 

Captain Dale had been Paul Jones' first lieutenant, besides seeing 
much other service in subordinate stations during the Avar of the Rev- 
olution. 

Captain Truxtun had a reputation for spirit that his subsequent 



1796.] NAVAL HISTORY. 151 

career fully justified, and had seen much service during the Revolu- 
tion, in command of diflerent private vessels of war. 

The rank of the subordinate officers eventually appointed to these 
ships, was determined by that of the different commanders, the senior 
lieutenant of Captain Barry's vessel taking rank of all the other first 
lieutenants, and the junior officers accordingly. 

All these preparations, however, were suddenly suspended by the 
signing of a treaty with Algiers, in Nov. 1795. By a provision of 
the law, the work was not to be prosecuted in the event of such a 
peace, and the President immediately called the attention of Con- 
gress to the subject. A new act was passed, without delay, ordering 
the completion and equipment of two of the forty-fours, and of one 
of the thirty-ei2"hts, while it directed the work on the reniainino- three 
ships to be stopped, and the perishable portion of their materials to 
be sold. A sum which had also been voted for the construction of 
some galleys, but no part of which had yet been used, was applied to 
the equipment of these vessels ordered to be launched.* 

The President, in his annual s])eech to Congress, December, 179G, 
strongly recommended laws for the gradual increase of the navy. 
It is worthy of remark, that as appears by documents published at 
the time, the peace obtained from the Dey of Algiers cost the govern- 
ment of the United States near a million of dollars, a sum quite suffi- 
cient to have kept the barbarian's port hermetically blockaded until . 
he should have humbly sued for permission to send a craft to sea. 

While these events were gradually leading to the formation of a 
navy, the maritime powers of Europe became involved in what was 
nearly a general war, and their measures of hostility against each 

* The reader will obtain some idea of the spirit which may prevail in a nation, when it 
does not possess, or neglects to use. the means of causing its rights and character to be 
respected, by the tone of the following article, which is extracted from a journal of the 
date of 179S, and which would seem to be as much in unison wn'th the temper of that dny, 
as one of an opposite character woulil comport witli the spirit of our own times. AL'iers 
will not extort tribute again from America, but other rights, not less dear to national hon- 
our, national character, and national interests, may be sacrificed to a temporising spirit, 
should not the navy be enlarged, and made the highest aim of national policy. 

" Crescent Frigate. 

"Portsmouth, Jan. 20. 
" On Thursday morning about sunrise, a gun was discharged from the Crescent frigate, 
as a signal for getting under way ; and at 10, A. M., she cleared the harbour, with a fine 
leading breeze. Our best wishes follow Captain Newman, his officei-s and men. May 
they arrive in safety at the place of their destination, and present to the Dey of Algiers, 
one of the finest specimens of elegant naval architecture which was ever borne on the 
Piscataijua's waters. 

" Blow all ye winds that fill the prosperous sail, 
'' And hush'd in peace be every adverse gale. 

" The Crescent is a present from the United States to the Dey, as compensation for de- 
lay in not fuUifling our treaty stipulations in proper time. 

" Richard O'Brien, Esq., who was ten years a prisoner at Algiers, took passage in the 
above frigate, and is to reside at Algiers as Consul General of the United States to all tlie 
Barbary states. 

" The C!resccnt has many valuable presents on board for the Dey, and when she sailed 
was supposed to be worth at least three In mil red tlwuxand dollars. 

" Twenty-six barrels of dollars constituted a part of her cargo. 

" It is worthy of remark, that the captain, chief of the officers, and many of the privates 
of the Crescent frigate, have been prisoners at Algiers." 



152 NAVAL HISTORY. [1798. 

other had a direct tendency to trespass on the privileges of neutrals. 
It would exceed the limits of this work to enter into the history of that 
system of gradual encroachments on the rights of the American peo- 
ple, which distinguished the measures ofhoth the two great belliger- 
ents, in the war that succeeded the French Revolution ; or the height 
of audacity to which the cruisers of France, in particular, carried 
their depredations, most probably mistaking the amount of the influ- 
ence of their own country, over the great body of the American na- 
tion. Not only did they capture British ships Avithin our waters, but 
they actually took the same liberties with Americans also. All 
attempts to obtain redress of the French government failed, and un- 
able to submit any longer to such injustice, tlie government, in April, 
1798, recommended to Congress a plan of armament and defence, 
that it was hoped would have the effect to check these aggressions, 
and avert an open conflict. Down to this period, the whole military 
defence of the country, was entrusted to one department, that of war ; 
and a letter from the secretary of this branch of the government, to 
the chairman of a committee to devise means of protection and de- 
fence, was the form in which this high interest was brought before 
the nation, through its representatives. Twenty small vessels were 
advised to be built, and, in the event of an open rupture, it was re- 
commended to Congress to authorise the President to cause six ships 
Vofthe line to be constructed. This force was in addition to the six 
frigates authorised by the law of 1794. 

The United States 44, Constitution 44, and Constellation 38, had 
been got afloat the year previous. These three ships are still in the 
service, and during the last forty years, neither has ever been long 
out of commission. 

The United States was the first vessel that was got into the water, 
under the present organisation of the navy. She was launched at 
Philadelphia, on the 10th of July, 1797, and the Constellation fol- 
lowed her on the 7th of September. 

Congress acted so far on the recommendation of the secretary of 
war, as to authorise the President to cause to be built, purchased, or 
hired, twelve vessels, none of which were to exceed twenty-two guns, 
and to see that they were duly equipped and manned. To effect 
these objects $950,000 were appropriated. This law passed the 27th 
of April, 1798, and on the 30th, a regular navy department was 
formally created. Benjamin Stoddart of Georgetown in the District 
of Columbia, was the first secretary put at the head of this important 
branch of the government, entering on his duties in June of the same 
year. 

After so long and so extraordinary a forgetfulncss of one of the 
most important interests of the nation, Congress now seemed to be 
in earnest ; the depredations of the French having reached a pass 
that could no longer be submitted to with honour. On the 4fh of 
May, a new appropriation was made for the construction of galleys 
and other small vessels, and on tlie 28th of tlie same month, the 
President was empowered to instruct the commanders of the public 
vessels to capture and send into port all French cruisers, whether 



1798.] NAVAL HISTORY. 153 

public or private, that might be found on the coast, having committed, 
or which there was reason to suppose might commit, any depreda- 
tions on the commerce of the country ; and, to recapture any Amer- 
ican vessel that might have already fallen into their hands. Addi- 
tional laws were soon passed for the condemnation of such prizes, 
and for the safe keeping of their crews. In June another law was 
passed, authorising the President to accept of twelve more vessels of 
war, should they be offered to him by the citizens, and to issue pub- 
lic stock in payment. By a clause in this act, it was provided that 
these twelve ships, as well as the twelve directed to be procured in the 
law of the 27th of April of the same year, should consist of six not 
exceeding 18 guns, of twelve between 20 and 24 gims, and of six of 
not less than 32 guns. The cautious manner in which the national 
legislature proceeded, on this occasion, will remind the reader of the 
reserve used in 1775, and 1776 ; and we trace distinctly, in both in- 
stances, the moderation of a people averse to war, no less than a 
strong reluctance to break the ties of an ancient but much abused 
amity. 

Down to this moment, the old treaty of alliance, formed between 
France and the United States during the war of the Revolution, and 
some subsequent conventions, were legally in existence ; but Con- 
gress by law solemnly abrogated them all, on the 7th of July, 1798, 
on the plea that they had been reapeatedly disregarded by France, 
and that the latter country continued, in the face of the most solemn 
remonstrances, to uphold a system of predatory warfare on the com- 
merce of the United States. 

It will be seen that an express declaration of war was avoided in 
all these measures, nor was it resorted to, at all, throughout this con- 
troversy, although war, in fact, existed from the moment the first 
American cruisers appeared on the ocean. On the 9th of July, 1798, 
another law passed, authorising the American vessels of war to cap- 
ture French cruisers wherever they might be found, and empowering 
the President to issue commissions to private armed vessels, convey- 
ing to them the same rights as regarded captures, as had been given 
to the public ships. By this act, the prizes became liable to condem- 
nation, for the benefit of the captors. 

On the 11th of July, 1798, a new marine corps was established by 
law, the old one having dissolved with the navy of the Revolution, to 
which it had properly belonged. It contained 881 officers, non-com- 
missioned officers, musicians and privates, and was commanded by 
a major. On the 16th of the same month, a law was passed to con- 
struct three more frigates. This act was expressed in such terms as 
to enable the government immediately to complete the ships com- 
menced under the law of 1791, and which had been suspended under 
that of 1796. The whole force authorised by law, on the 16th of 
July, consequently, consisted of twelve frigates ; twelve ships of a 
force between 20 and 24 guns, inclusive ; and six smaller sloops, be- 
sides galleys and revenue cutters ; making a total of thirty active 
cruisers. 

Such is the history of the legislation that gave rise to the present 



154 NAVAL HISTORY. [1798. 

American marine, and which led to what is commonly called the 
quasi war against Fi-ance. There appears to have been no enact- 
ments limiting the number of the oflicers, who were appointed ac- 
cording to the wants of the service, though their stations and allow- 
ances were duly regulated by law. 

While the government of the United States was taking these incip- 
ient and efficient steps to defend the rights and character of the na- 
tion, the better feeling of the country was entirely in its favour. 
Families of the highest social and political influence pressed forward 
to ofler their sons to the service, and the navy being the favourite 
bi'anch, nearly all of those who thus presented themselves, and whose 
ages did not preclude the probationary delay, had their names en- 
rolled on the list of midshipmen. Young and intelligent seamen 
were taken from the merchant service, to receivs the rank of lieuten- 
ants, and the commanders and captains were either chosen from 
among those who had seen service in the war of the Revolution, or 
who by their experience in the charge of Indiamen, and other vessels 
of value, were accustomed to responsibilitv and command. It may 
be well to add, here, that the seamen of the nation joined heartily in 
the feeling of the day, and that entire crews were frequently entered 
for frigates in the course of a few hours. AVant of men was hardly 
experienced at all in this contest ; and we deem it a proof that sea- 
men can always be had in a war thar offers active service, by volun- 
tary enlistments, provided an outlet be not offered to entei-prise 
through the medium of private cruisers. Although commissions were 
granted to privateers and letters of marque, on this occasion, com- 
paratively few of the former were taken out, the commerce of France 
oiFering but slight inducements to encounter the expense. 

During the year 1797, or previously to the commencement of hos- 
tilities between the United States and France, the exports of the 
former country amounted to .$57,000,000, and the shipping had in- 
creased to quite 800,000 toiis, while the population, making an esti- 
mate from the census of 1800, had risen to near 5,000,000. The 
revenue of the year was $S,2!]9,070. 



CHAPTER XV. 



The Gantjos, Capt. Richard Dak?, is broiisht into the service with orders to capture all 
French cruisers &c Capture of Le Croyable, bvthe Delaware, Capt. Decatur.. ..Na- 
val force at sea.... Affair of the Baltimore and the British ship Carnalick....Five of the 
Baltimore's crew are impressed and three of her convoy captured... .Capt. Phillips of 
the Baltimore, dismissed from the navy. ...Different opinions respeclinc: his conduct.... 
Capture of the Retaliation, Lieut. Bainhridtre, by the Volontaire and Insurc^nt.. ..Es- 
cape of the Montezuma and Norfolk. ...Return and promotion of Lieut. Baiubridge.... 
Captures of the Sans Pareil and Jaloux. 

Altuougu three of the frigateswere launched in 1797, neither was 
quite ready for service when the necessities of the country required 



1798.] NAVAL HISTORY 155 

that vessels should bo sent to sea. The want of suitable spars and 
guns, and other naval stores, fit for the ships of size, had retarded the 
labour on the frigates, while vessels had been readily bought for the 
sloops of war, which, though deficient in many of the qualities and 
conveniences of regular cruisers, were made to answer the exigencies 
of the times. Among others that had been thus provided, was an In- 
diamaii, called the Ganges. Retaining her name, this vessel was 
brought into the service, armed and equipped as a 24, and put under 
the command of Captain Richard Dale, who was ordered to sail on 
a cruise on the 22d of May. This ship, then, was the first man-of- 
war that ever got to sea under the present organisation of the navy, 
or since the United States have existed under the constitution. Cap- 
tain Dale was instructed to do no more than pertains generally to 
the authority of a vessel of war, that is cruising on the coast of the 
countr}' to which she belongs, in a time of peace ; the law that cm- 
powered seizures no.t passing until a few days after he had sailed. 
His cruising ground extended from the east end of Long Island to 
the capes of Virginia, with a view to cover, as much as possible, the 
three important ports of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, 
and, in anticipation of the act of the 28th of May, Captain Dale was 
directed to appear off the capes of the Delaware on the I2th of June, 
to receive new orders. On that day, instructions were accordingly 
sent to him to capture all French cruisers that were hovering on the 
coast with hostile views on the American connnerce, and to recapture 
any of their prizes he might happen to fdl in with. 

The Constellation 38, Captain Truxtun, and the Delaware 29, 
Captain Decatur, next went to sea, early in June, under the last of 
the foregoing orders, and with directions to cruise to the southward 
of Cape Henry, as far as the coast of Florida. When a few days out, 
the Delaware fell in with the French privateer schooner Le Croyable 
14, with a crew of 70 men. Being satisfied that this vessel had 
already made several prizes, and that she was actually cruising on 
soundings, in search of more. Captain Decatur took her, and si^nt 
her into the Delaware. As the law directing the ca))ture of all armed 
French vessels passed soon after her arrival, Le Croyable was con- 
demned, and bought into the navy. She was called the Retaliation 
and the command of her was given to Lieutenant Bainbridge. 

Le Croyable was, consequently, not only the first capture made, 
in Avhat it is usual to term the French war of 1798, but she was the 
first vessel ever taken by the present navy, or under the present form 
of government. 

The activity employed by the administration, as well as by the 
navy, now astonished those who had so long been accustomed to 
believe the American people disposed to submit to any insult, in 
preference to encountering the losses of war. The United States 44, 
Captain Barry, went to sea early in July, and proceeded to cruise to 
the eastward. The ship carried out with her many young gentle- 
men, who have since risen to high rank and distinction in the service.* 

* The first licalenant of the United States on this cruise, was Mr. Ross; sfoond lieu- 
tenant, Mr. Mullony ; third lieutenant, Mr. James Barron ; fourth lieutenant, Mr. Charles 



156 NAVAL HISTORY. [1798. 

But the law of the 9th of that month, occurring immediately after- 
wards, the government altered its policy entirely, and determined to 
send at once, a strong force among the West India islands, where the 
enemy abounded, and where the commerce of the country was most 
exposed to his depredations. On the 11th, instructions were sent to 
Captain Barry, who now hoisted a broad pennant, to go ofi' Cape 
Cod, with the Delaware 20, Captain Decatur, where he would find 
the Herald 18, Captain Sever, that officer preferring active service 
in a small vessel, to wailing for the frigate to which he had been ap- 
pointed, and then to proceed directly to the West Indies, keeping to 
windward. 

That well known frigate, the Constitution 44, had been launched 
at Boston, September 20th, 1797; and she first got under way, July 
20th of this year, under Captain Samuel Nicholson, who, in August, 
with four revenue vessels in company, was directed to cruise on the 
coast, to the southward of Gape Henry.* These revenue vessels 
were generally brigs, between one hundred and fifty and two hundred 
tons measurement, with armaments varying from ten to fourteen 
guns, and crews of from fifty to seventy men. At the close of the 
year, many of them were taken into the navy, and we find some of 
their officers, soon after the commencement of the contest, in the 
command of frigates. The celebrated Preble is first seen in actual 
service, as the commander of one of these revenue vessels, though 
his rank was that of lieutenant commandant, and he had been pre- 
viously attached to the Constitution, as one of her officers. 

Early in August, the Constellation 38, Captain Truxtun, and the 
Baltimore 20, Captain Phillips, went to the Havana, and brought 
a convoy of sixty sail in safety to the United States ; several French 
cruisers then lying in the port, ready to follow the merchantmen, 
but for this force, the presence of which prevented them from appear- 
ing outside the castle. By the close of the year, the following force 
was at sea; most of the vessels being either in the West Indies, or 
employed in convoying between the islands and the United States. 

United States' Ships at sea, during the year 1798, viz: 



*United States 


44, 


Com. 


Barry. 


*Constitution 


44, 


Capt. 


Nicholson, 


*Constellation 


38, 


(( 


Truxtun. 


George Wash- 








ington 


24, 




Fletcher. 


* Portsmouth 


24, 




M'Niel. 


Merrimack 


24, 




Brown. 


Ganges 


24, 




Tin gey. 


Montezuma 


20, 




Murray. 


Baltimore 


20, 




Phillips. 



Stewart. Amonc: the midehipmen were Decatar, Somcrs, Caldwell, &c. &g. Messrs, 
Jacob Jones and Crane, joined lier soon after. 

* It is said that the Constitution would have been the fii-st vessel got into the water 
under the new organisation, had she not stuck in an abortive attempt to launch her, at 
an earlier day. 



1798.] 



NAVAL HISTORY. 



157 



Delaware 


20, 


(( 


Decatur. 


Herald 


18, 


(t 


Russel. 


Richmond 


18, 


(( 


S. Barron. 


*Norfolk 


18, 


(( 


Williams. 


*Pinckney 


18, 


(( 


Hay ward. 


Retaliation 


14, 


Lieut 


Com. Bainbridge. 


C *Pickeriiiff 


14, 


Lieut 


Com. Preble 




*Eaole 


14, 


(( 


Campbell. 




*Scammel 


H, 


(( 


Adams. 


Revenue 


*Gov. Jay 


14, 


(( 


Leonard. 


vessels. 


*Viroinia 


14, 


(1 


Bright. 




*Dili<ience 


12, 


(4 


Brown. 




*South Carolinal2, 


(( 


Payne. 




*Gen. Green 


10, 


(( 


Price. 



Of these vessels, those marked with an asterisk, were built ex- 
pressly for the public service, while the remainder, with the exception 
of the Retaliation, captured from the French, were purchased. The 
vessels rating 20 and 24 guns, were old-fashioned sloops, Avith gun- 
decks, and carried, in general, long nines and sixes. The smaller 
vessels were dcep-vvaisted, like the modern corvette, and carried light 
long guns. Even the frigates had, as yet, no carronades in their 
armaments, their quarter-deck and forecastle batteries being long 
twelves and nines. The carronade was not introduced into the ser- 
vice, until near the close of this contest. 

Besides the vessels named in the foregoing list, many more were 
already laid down ; and so great was the zeal of the commercial 
towns, in particular, that no less than two frigates, and five large 
sloops were building by subscription, in the different principal ports 
of the country. In addition to this force, must be enumerated eight 
large galleys, that were kept on the southern coast, to defend their 
inlets. 

The sudden expedition of so many cruisers in the West Indies, 
appears to have surprised the British, as well as the common enemy; 
and, while the men-of-war of Great Britain, on the whole, treated 
their new allies with sufficient cordiality, instances were not wanting, 
in which a worse feeling was shown, and a very questionable policy 
pursued towards them. The most flagrant instance of the sort that 
took place, occurred in the autumn of this year, off the port of Ha- 
vana, and calls for a conspicuous notice, in a work of this character. 

On the morning of the 16th November, 1798, a squadron of 
British ships was made from the United States sloop of war Balti- 
more 20, Captain Phillips, then in charge of a convoy, bound from 
Charleston to the Havana. At the time, the Moro was in sight, 
and knowing that the English cruisers in those seas, were in the 
habit of pursuing a vexatious course towards the American mer- 
chantmen. Captain Phillips, as soon as he had ascertained tlie 
characters of the strangers, made a signal to his convoy to carry sail 
hard, in order to gain their y)ort, bearing up in the Baltimore, at the 
same time, to speak the English commodore. The latter was in the 



158 NAVAL HISTORY. [1798. 

Caniatick 74, with tlie Queen 98, Thunderer 74, Maidstone 32, and 
Greyhound 32, in company. The Enghsh ships cut off three of the 
convoy, and captured them, probably under the plea of a blockade, 
or, some of their own constructions of the rights of colonial trade. 
When the Baltimore joined the Carnatick, Captain Loring, the com- 
mander of the latter ship, and the senior officer of the squadron, in- 
vited Captain Phillips to repair on board his vessel. On complying 
with this invitation, a conversation ensued between the two officers, 
in which Captain Loring informed his guest that he intended to take 
all, the men out of the Baltimore, that had not regular American 
protections. Captain Phillips protested against such a violation of 
his flag, as an outrage on the dignity of the nation to which he be- 
longed, and announced his determination to surrender his ship, 
should any such proceedings be insisted on. 

Captain Phillips now returned on board the Baltimore, where he 
found a British lieutenant in the act of mustering the crew. Taking 
the muster-roll from his hand. Captain Phillii>s ordered the Car- 
natick's officer to walk to leeward, and sent his people to theii 
quarters. The American commander now found himself in great 
doubt, as to the propriety of the course he ought to pursue. Having 
a legal gentleman of some reputation onboard, he determined, how- 
ever, to consult him, and to be influenced by his advice. The 
following facts appear to have been submitted to the consideration 
of this gentleman. The Baltimore had sailed without a commission 
on board her, or any paper whatever, signed by the President of the 
United States, and under instructions that " the vessels of every 
other nation (France excepted,) are on no account to be molested ; 
and I wish particularly to impress on your mind, that should you 
ever see an American vessel captured by the armed ship of any 
nation at war, with whom we are at peace, you cannot lawfully 
interfere to prevent the capture, for it is to be taken for granted, that 
such nation will compensate for such capture, if it should prove to 
have been illegally made." We have quoted the whole of this clause, 
that part which is not, as well as that which is, pertinent to the point 
that influenced Captain Phillips, in order that the reader may un- 
derstand the spirit that prevailed in the councils of the nation, at that 
time. There may be some question how far a belligerent can, with 
propriety, have any authority over a vessel that has been regularly 
admitted into the convoy of a national cruiser, for it is just as rea- 
sonable to suppose that a public ship of one nation would not protect 
an illegality by countenancing such a fraud, as to suppose that a 
public ship of another would not do violence to right in her seizures; 
and an appeal to the justice of America to deliver up an offending 
ship might be made quite as plausibly, as an appeal to the justice of 
England to restore an innocent ship. The papers of a vessel under 
convoy, at all events, can properly be examined nowhere but under 
the eyes of the commander of the convoy, or of his agent, in order 
that the ship examined may have the benefit of his protecting care, 
should the belligerent feel disposed to abuse his authority. It will 
be observed, however, that Captain Phillips had trusted more to the 



1798.] NAVAL HISTORY. 159 

sailing of his convoy, than to any principles of international law ; and 
when we inquire further into the proceedings of the British com- 
mander, it will be seen that this decision, while it may not have been 
as dignified and firm as comported with his oflicial station was 
probably as much for the benefit of the interests he was deputed to 
protect, as any other course might have been. 

Whatever may be thought of the rights of belligerents in regard to 
ships, there can be no question that the conduct of the British ofiicer, 
in insisting, under the circumstances, on taking any of the Balti- 
more's men, was totally unjustifiable. The right of impressment is 
a national, and not an international right, depending solely on mu- 
nicipal regulations, and in no manner on public law; since the latter 
can confer no privileges, that, in their nature, arc not reciprocal. 
International law is founded on those principles of public good which 
are common to all forms of government, and it is not to be tolerated 
that one particular community should set up usages, arising out of 
its peculiar situation, with an attempt to exercise them at the ex- 
pense of those general rules which the civilised world has recogjiised 
as necessary, paramount, and just. No princij^le is better settled 
than the one which declares that a vessel on the high seas, for all the 
purposes of personal rights, is within the protection of the laws of 
the country to which she belongs; and England has no more au- 
thority to send an agent on board an American vessel, so situated, to 
claim a deserter, or a subject, than she can have a right to send a 
sheriff's oificer to arrest a thief. If her institutions allow her to insist 
on the services of a particular and limited class of her own subjects, 
contmry to their wishes, it is no aftair of other nations, so long as the 
exercise of this extraordinary regulation is confined to her own juris- 
diction ; but when she attem])ts to extend it into the legal jurisdictions 
of other communities, she not only invades their privileges by vio- 
lating a conventional right but she offends their sense of justice by 
making them parties to the commission of an act that is in open 
opposition to natural equity. In the case before us, the British 
commander, however, did still more, for he reversed all the knov/a 
and safe principles of evidence, by declaring that he should put the 
accused to the proofs of their innocence, and, at once, assume that 
every man in the Baltimore was an Englishman, who should fail to 
establish the fi\ct that he was an American. 

Captain Phillips, after taking time to deliberate, determined to 
submit to superior force, surrender his ship, and to refer the matter 
to his own government. The colours of the Baltimore were accor- 
dingly lowered; Captain Loring was informed that the ship was at 
his disposal, and fifty -five of the crew were immediately transferred 
to the Carnatick. After a short delay, however, fifty of these men 
were sent back, and only five Avere retained. 

Captain Loring now made a proposition to Captain Phillips, that 
was as extraordinary as any part of his previous conduct, by stating 
that he had a number of Americans in his squadron, whom he would 
deliver up to the flag of their country, man for man, in exchange for 
as many Englishmen. These Americans, it is fair to presume, had 



160 NAVAL HISTORY. [1798. 

been impressed, and the whole of tliese violent outrages on neutral 
rights, were cU)sed by a proposal to surrender a certain number of 
American citizens, who were detained against their Avill, and in the 
face of all law, to fight battles in which they had no interest, if Cap- 
tain Phillips would weaken his crew by yielding an e(|ual number 
of Englishmen, who had taken voluntary service under the American 
flag, for the consideration of a liberal bounty and ample pay. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that this proposition was rejected; 
the American commander possessing no more authority to give up 
any portion of his legal crew, in this manner, than he had to insist 
on the services of the Americans whom he might receive in exchange. 
The British squadron now made sail, carrying with them the five 
men and the three ships. Nothing remained for Captain Phillips 
but to hoist his colours again, and to proceed on his cruise. On his 
return to America, this ofiicer hastened to Philadelphia, and laid the 
whole transaction before the government, and on the 10th of January, 
1799, he was dismissed from the navy witiiout trial. 

We locale back on this whole transaction with mortification, regret 
and surprise. We feel deep mortification that, after the experience 
of the contest ofthe Revolution, the American character should have 
fallen so low, that an ofiicer of any nation might dare to commit an 
outrage as violent as that perpetrated by the commander of the 
Carnatick, for it is fair to presume that no man would incur its re- 
sponsibility with his own government, who did not feel Avell assured 
that his superiors would think the risk of a conflict with America, 
more than compensated by the advantages that would be thus ob- 
tained in manning the English fleets ; efiectually ])roving that it must 
have been the prevalent opinion ofthe day, America was so little 
disposed to insist on her rights, that in preference to putting her 
commerce in jeopardy, she would not only yield her claim to protect 
seamen under her flag generally, but under that pennant which is 
supposed more especially to represent national dignity and national 
honour. This opinion was undeniably unfounded, as regards the 
great majority ofthe American people, but it was only too true, in 
respect to a portion of them, who collected in towns, and sustained 
by the power of active wealth, have, in all ages and in all countries, 
been enabled to make their particular passing interests temporarily 
superior to those eternal principles on which nations or individuals 
can alone, with any due reliance, trust for character and security. 
In 1798, the contest with France was so much the more popular with 
the mercantile part ofthe community, because it favoured trade with 
England ; and some now living may be surprised to learn, that a 
numerous and powerful class in the country, Avere so blinded by their 
interests, and perhaps misled by ])rejudices of a colonial origin, as 
actually to contend that Great Britain had a ])erfect right to seize her 
seamen wherever she could find them; a privilege that could be no 
more urged with reason, than to insist that Great Britain had an 
equal right to exercise any other municipal ])ower that conflicted 
with general principles, on the plea of |n'ivate necessity. An act of 
spirited resistance at that moment might have put a stop to the long 



1799.] NAVAL HISTORY. 161 

train of similar aggressions that followed, and which, after an age 
of forbearance, finally produced all the evils of the very warfare that 
seem to have been so much apprehended. 

On this branch of the subject, no more need be said at present, 
than to add that while the British government did not appear dis- 
posed to defend the principle involved in the act of its officer, the 
American so far forgot what was done to its real interests, as not to 
insist on an open and signal reparation of the wrong. 

The conduct of the commander of the Baltimore ought, in a 
measure, to be judged by the spirit of the day in which the event oc-* 
curred, and not by the better feelings and sounder notions that now 
prevail on the same subject. Still, he appears to have fallen into one 
or two material errors. The inference put on the words " no ac- 
count" in his instructions, was palpably exaggerated and feeble; 
since it would equally have led him to yield his ship itself, to an at- 
tack from an inferior force, should it have suited the views of the 
commander of any vessel but a Frenchman to make one ; and the 
case goes to show the great importance of possessing a corps of 
trained and instructed officers to command vessels of war, it being as 
much a regular qualification in the accomplished naval captain, to be 
able to make distinctions that shall render him superior to sophisms 
of this nature, as to work his ship. 

The circumstance that there was no commission, or any paper 
signed by the President ofthe United States, in the Baltimore, though 
certainly very extraordinary, and going to prove the haste with which 
the armaments of 1798 were made, ought to have had no influence 
on the decision of Captain Phillips, in the presence of a foreign ship. 
This officer would not have hesitated about defending his convoy, 
under his instructions alone, against a Frenchman ; and by a similar 
rule, he ought not to have hesitated about defending his people 
against an Englishman, on the same authority. Any defect in form, 
connected with his papers, was a question purely national, no foreign 
officer having aright to enter into the examination of the matter at 
all, so long as there was sufficient evidence to establish the national 
character ofthe Baltimore, which, in extremity, might have been 
done by the instructions themselves; and we see in the doubts of 
Captain Phillips on this head, the deficiencies of a man educated in a 
merchantman, or a service in which clearances and registers are in- 
dispensal)le to legality, instead ofthe decision and promptitude of an 
officer taught from youth to rely on the dignity and power of his 
government, and tlie sanctity of his flag. The commissions of her 
officers do not give to a ship of war her national character, but they 
merely empower those who hold them to act in their several stations ; 
the nationality of the vessel depending on the simple facts ofthe 
ownership and the duty on which she is employed. Nations create 
such evidence of this interest in their vessels as may suit themselves, 
nor can foreigners call these provisions in question, so long as they 
answer the great ends for which they were intended. 

Different opinions have been entertained of the propriety of the 
course taken by Captain Phillips without reference to the grounds 

VOL. I. 11 



162 NAVAL HISTORY. [1798. 

of his submission. By one set of logicians lie is justified in yielding 
without resistance, on account of the overwliehning force of the Eng- 
lish ; and by another condemned on the plea tliat a vessel of war 
should never strike her colours with her guns loaded. We think 
both of these distinctions false, as applied to this particular case ; and 
the latter, as applied to most others. When the commander of a 
vessel of war sees no means to escape from capture, nothing is gained, . 
either to his nation or himself, by merely firing a broadside and haul- 
ing down his colours. So far from being an act of spirit, it is the 
reverse, unless we concede something to the force of prejudice, since 
it is hazarding the lives of others, without risking his own, or those 
of his crew ; for, to pretend that Captain Phillips should not only 
have discharged his guns, but have stood the fire of Carnatick, is to 
affirm that an officer ought to consummate an act of injustice in 
others, by an act of extreme folly of his own. We think, however, 
that Captain Phillips erred in not resisting in a manner that was com- 
pletely within his power. When he took the muster-roll from the 
hands of the English lieutenant, and called his people to quarters, 
he became master of his own ship, and might iiave ordered the Car- 
natick'sboat to leave it, with a message to Ca])tain Loring, expressive 
of his determination to defend himself The case was not one of 
war, in which there was a certainty that, resisting, he would be as- 
sailed, but an effort on the part of the commander of a sliip belonging 
to a friendly power, to push aggression to a point that no one but 
himself could know. An attempt to board tb.e Baltimore in boats 
might have been resisted, and successfully even, when credit instead 
of discredit would have been reflected on the service ; and did the 
Carnatick open her fire, all question of blame, as respects Captain 
Philhps, would have been immediately settled. It maybe much 
doubted if the British officer would have had recourse to so extreme 
a measure, under such circumstances ; and if he had, something 
would have been gained, by at once placing the open hostility of a 
vastly superior force, between submission and disgrace. 

Neither Avas the course pursued by the government free from cen- 
sure. It is at all times a dangero-us, and in scarcely no instance a 
necessary, practice, to cashier an officer without trial. Cases of mis- 
conduct so flagrant, may certainly occur, as to justify the executive 
in resorting to the prompt use of the removing power ; as for cow- 
ardice in the open field, in presence of the commander-in-chief, when 
disgrace in face of the army or fleet, might seem as appropriate as 
promotion for conduct of the opposite kind ; but, as a rule, no mili- 
tary man should suffer this heavy penalty without having the benefit 
of a deliberate and solemn investigation, and the judgment of those 
who, by their experience, may be supposed to be the most competent 
to decide on his conduct. The profession of an officer is the busi- 
ness of a life, and the utmost care of his interests and character, is 
the especial duty of those who are called to preside over his destinies, 
in a civil capacity. In the case before us, we learn the danger of 
precipitation and misconception in such matters, the reason given 
by the secretary for the dismissal of Captain Phillips being contra- 



1798.] NAVAL HISTORY. 163 

dieted by the facts, as they are now understood. In the communica- 
tion of that functionary to the degraded officer, tlie latter was charo-ed 
witli " tame submission to tlie orders of the Britisli heutenant, on 
board your own ship ;" Avhereas, it is alledged on the part of Captain 
Pliillips, that he did not permit the English officer to muster his 
crew, but that the act was performed while he himself was on board 
the Carnatick. 

As recently as the year 1820, an attempt was made to revive an 
investigation of this subject, and to restore Captain Phillips to liis 
rank. It is due to that officer to say, many of the facts were found 
to he much more in his favour than had been generally believed, and 
that the investigation, while it failed in its ))rincipal object, tended 
materially to relieve his name from the opprobrium under which it 
had previously rested. Although many still think he erred in judjr- 
ment, it is now the general impression that his mistakes were the 
results of a want of experience, and perhaps of the opinions of the 
day, rather than of any want of a suitable disposition to defend the 
honour of the flag. The ])unishnient inflicted on him, appears to 
have been as unnecessarily severe, as it was indiscreet in its manner ; 
and if we may set down the outrage as a fault of the times, we may 
also add to the same catalogue of errors, most of the other distinctive 
features of the entire proceedings. 

It has been stated that the privateer Le Ci'oyable 14, captured by 
the Delaware 20, had been taken into the service, under the name of 
the Retaliation. In November, 1798, or about the time that the 
Carnatick impressed the men of the Baltimore, the Montezuma 20, 
Captain Murray, Norfolk 18, Captain Williams, and the Retaliation 
12, Lieutenant Bainbridge,were cruising in company off'Guadaloupe, 
when three sails were made to the eastward, and soon after two more 
to the westward. Captain Murray, who was the senior officer, was 
led to suppose, from circumstances, that the vessels in the eastern 
board were British, and speaking the Retaliation, he ordered Lieu- 
tenant Bainbridge to reconnoitre them, while, with the Norfolk in 
company, he gave chase, himself, in the Montezuma, to the two ves- 
sels to the westward. The Retaliation, in obedience to these orders, 
immediately hauled up towards the three strangers, and getting near 
enough for signals, she made her own number, with a view to ascer- 
tain if they were Americans. Finding that he was not understood, 
Lieutenant Bainbridge mistook the strangers for English cruisers, 
knowing that several were on the station, and unluckily permitted 
them to approach so near, that when their real characters were as- 
certained, it was too late to escape. The leading ship, a French 
frigate, was an uncommonly fust sailer, and she Avas soon near enough 
to open her fire. It was not long before another frigate came up, 
when the Retaliation was compelled to lower her flag. Thus did 
this unlucky vessel become the first cruiser taken by both parties, in 
this war. The frigates by which the Retaliation was captured, 
proved to be the Volontaire 36, and the Insurgente 32, the former 
carrying 44, and the latter 40 guns. Mr. Bainbridge was put on 
board the Volontaire-, while the Insurgente, perceiving that tho 



164 NAVAL HISTORY. [1798. 

schooner was safe, continued to carry sail in chase of the Montezuma 
and Norfolk. As soon as a prize crew could be thrown into the Re- 
tahation, the Volontaire crowded sail after her consort. The chase 
now became exceedingly interesting, the two American vessels being 
fully aware, by the capture of the schooner, that they had to deal 
with an enemy. The Insvirgente was one of the fastest ships in the 
world, and her commander an officer of great skill and resolution. 
The two American vessels were small for their rates, and, indeed, 
were overrated, the Montezuma being a little ship of only 347 tons, 
and the Norfolk a brig of 200. Their armaments were merely nines 
and sixes ; shot that would be scarcely regarded in a conflict with 
frigates. The officers of the Volontaire collected on the forecastle of 
their ship to witness the chase, and thelnsurgente being, by this time, 
a long way ahead. Captain St. Laurent, the commander of the Vol- 
ontaire, asked Mr. Bainbridge, who was standing near him, what 
might be the force of the two American vessels. With great pres- 
ence of mind, Mr. Bainbridge answered without hesitation, that the 
ship carried 28 twelves, and the brig 20 nines. As this account quite 
doubled the force of the Americans, Captain St. Laurent, who was 
senior to the commander of the Insurgente, immediately threw out a 
signal to the latter to relinquish the chase. This was an unmilitary 
order, even admitting the fact to have been as stated, for the Insur- 
gente would have been fully able to employ two such vessels until 
the Volontaire could come up ; but the recent successes of the Eng- 
lish had rendered the French cruisers wary, and the Americans and 
English, as seamen, were probably identified in the minds of the 
enemy. The signal caused as much surprise to Captain Murray, in 
the Montezuma, as to Captain Barreault, of the Insurgente, for the 
latter, an excellent and spirited officer, had got so near his chases as 
to have made out their force, and to feel certain of capturing both. 
The signal was obeyed, however, and the Montezuma and Norfolk 
escaped. 

VFhen the two French vessels rejoined each other. Captain Bar- 
reault naturally expressed his surprise at having been recalled under 
such circumstances. An explanation followed when tlie7'?/se that had 
been practised by Mr. Bainbridge was discovered. It is to the 
credit of the French officers, that, while they were much vexed at the 
results of tliis artifice, they never visited the offender with their dis- 
pleasure. 

It is one of the curious incidents of this singular contest, that a 
proposition was made to Mr. Bainbridge, by the Governor of Guad- 
aloupe, into which place the two French frigates went with their 
prize, to restore the Retaliation, a vessel captured from the French 
themselves, and to liberate her crew, provided he would stipulate that 
the island should remain neutral during the present state of things. 
This proposition Mr. Bainbridge had no authority to accept, and the 
termination of a long and prevaricating negotiation on the part of 
the governor, whose object was probably to enrich his particular com- 
mand, or himself, by possessing for a time, a monopoly of the Amer- 
ican trade, was to send the Retaliation back to America as a cartel ; 



1799.] NAVAL HISTORY. 1G5 

for, now that the United States had taken so bold a stand, tJie French 
government appeared even less anxious than our own, to break out 
into open war. On the arrival of Mr. Bainbridge in this country, 
his conduct received the approbation of the administration, and he 
was immediately promoted to the rank of master commandant, and 
appointed to the Norfolk 18, one of the vessels he had saved from 
the enemy by his presence of mind. 

The eftbrts of the Governor of Guadaloupe to obtain a neutrality 
for his own island, had been accompanied by some acts of severity 
towards his prisoners, into which he had suffered himself to be led, 
ap]iarently with the hope that it might induce Mr. Bainbridge to ac- 
cept his propositions ; and that officer now reported the whole of the 
proceedings to his own government. The result was an act author- 
ising retaliation on the persons of Frenchmen, should there be any 
recurrence of similar wrongs, dThis law gave rise to some of the 
earliest of those disgraceful party dissensions which, in the end, 
reduced the population of the whole country, with very few excep- 
tions, to be little more than partisans of either French or English 
aggressions. 

The United States 44, and Delaware 20, captured the privateers 
Sans Pareil 16, and Jaloux 14, in the course of the autumn, and sent 
them in. 

Thus terminated the year 1798, though the return of the Retali- 
ation did not occur until the commencement of 1799, leaving the 
United States with a hastily collected, an imperfectly organised, and 
unequally disciplined squadron of ships, it is true ; but a service that 
contained the germ of all that is requisite to make an active, an effi- 
cient, and a glorious marine. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Naval force — Character of the different vcs?pIs — tlieir ftistriliution in the service — Cap- 
tnrrsi made by tlie respective squadrons — The Constitntion, Cam. Trnxtnn. captures 
rinsnrgcnte — Critical situation of the prize crew — Action of the Constitution with 
La Veni^eance — Lo^s of midshipman Jarvis — Com. Truxtun receives a gold medal — 
Exploit of Lieut. Hull — Loss of I'lnsurgonte and the Piclvcring- with all tlieir crews — 
Captures by the Enterprise, Lieut. Conidt. Rhaw — by the Boston, Capt. Little — Brief 
catalogue of prizes taken on the V\est India station — Spirited engagement of the Ex- 
periment, Lieut. Comdt. M.alcy, with the picaroons — Lieut. Comdt. Stewart capturesthe 
Deux Amis and la Diane — his unfortrnate engagement with the (British privateer) 
Louisa Bridger — Capt. Bainbridge, in the George Washington, goes to Algiers with 
{rihule— The demands of the Dey — Capt. B.'s decision — he forces through the Darda- 
nelles — his reception at Constantinople — return to Algiers — handsome conduct to the 
French — lie returns home and is transferred to the Essex — Peace concluded with 
France. 

The year 1799 opened with no departure from the policy laid down 
by the government, and the building and equipping of the different 
ships in various parts of the country, were pressed with as much dili- 



166 NAVAL HISTORY. [1799. 

gence as the public resources would then allow. In the course of 
this season, many vessels were launched, and most of them got to 
sea within the year. Including all, those that were employed in 179S, 
those that were put in commission early in the ensuing year, and 
those that were enabled to quit port nearer to its close, the entire 
active naval force of the United States, in 1799, would seem to have 
been comj)osed of the following vessels, viz : 



United States 


44, 


Delaware 


20, 


Constitution 


44, 


Baltimore 


20, 


Congress 


38, 


Patapsco 


20, 


Constellation 


38, 


Maryland 


20, 


Essex 


32, 


Herald 


18, 


General Greene 


28, 


Norfolk 


18, 


Boston 


28, 


Richmond 


18, 


Adams 


28, » Pinckney 


18, 


John Adams 


28, 


Warren 


18, 


Portsmouth 


24, 


Eagle 


18, 


Connecticut 


24, 


Pickering 


14, 


Ganges 


24, 


Augusta 


14, 


Geo. Washington 


24, 


Scammel 


14, 


Merrimack 


24, 


Enterprise 


12. 



To these must be added a few revenue vessels, though most of this 
description of craii.ers appear to have been kept on the coast through- 
out this year. As yet, the greatest confusion and irregularity pre- 
vailed in the rating, no uniform system appearing to have been 
adopted. The vessels built by the different cities, and presented to 
the public, in particular, were rated too high, from a natural desire to 
make the oftering as respectable as possible ; and it does not appear 
to have been thought expedient, on the part of the government, pre- 
maturely to correct the mistakes. But the department itself was 
probably too little instructed to detect the discrepancies, and some 
of them continued to exist as long as the ships themselves. It may 
help the reader in appreciating the cliaractersof the different vessels, 
if we explain some of these irregularities, as a specimen of the whole. 

The United States and Constitution, as has been elsewhere said, 
were large ships, with batteries of 30 twenty-four-pounders on their 
gun-decks, and were appropriately rated as forty-fours. The Con- 
gress and Constellation were such ships as the English were then in 
the practice of rating as tiiirty-eights, being eighteen-pounder frigates, 
of the largest size. The Essex was the only ship in the navy that 
was properly rated as a thirty-two, having a main-deck battery of 26 
twelves, though she was a large vessel of her class. The John 
Adams, General Greene, Adams, and Boston, were such ships as 
the British had been accustomed to rate as fwenty-eiohts, and tlie 
two latter were small ships of this denomination. The George Wash- 
ington, though she appears as only a twenty-four, while the Boston 
figured as a thirty-two, was, as near as can now be ascertained by 
the officially reported tonnage, more than a fourth larger than the 
latter ship. Indeed, it may be questioned if the Boston ought to 
have been rated higher than a twenty-four, the Connecticut which 



1799.] NAVAL HISTORY. 167 

was tliiis classed, being tliirty tons larger. It ought, hoAvevcr, to be 
remarked, that differences in tlie rule of measuring tonnatre, had 
prevailed in different colonies among the shipwrights, as tliev are 
known still to exist in different nations, and it is probable that some 
confusion may have entered into these reports, in consequence of the 
want of uniformity. It may be added, that the smaller vessels gen- 
erally were light of their respective rates, and were by no means to be 
estimated by those of similar rates, at the present day. 

At the close of the year 1798, the active force in the West Indies 
had been distributed into four separate squadrons in the followino- 
manner. 

One squadron under Commodore Barry, who was the senior offi- 
cer of the service, cruised to the windward, running as far south as 
Tobago, and consisted of the vessels about to be named, viz : 
United States 44, Com. Barry. 

Constitution 44, Capt. Nicholson. 

George Washington 24, " Fletcher. 
Merrimack 24, " Brown. 

Portsmouth 24, " M'Niell. 

Herald 18, Master Com. Russel. 

Pickering 14, Lieut. Com. Preble. 

Eagle ^ 15, " Campbell. 

Scammel 14, " Adams. 

Diligence 12, " Brown. 

This force was now kept actively employed, the ships passing from 
point to point, with orders to make a general rendezvous at Prince 
Rupert's Bay. This squadron made several captures, principally 
of privateers, and as none of them Avere accompanied by incidents 
deserving of particular mention, they may be recorded together, 
though occurring at different periods. The United States 44, Com- 
modore Barry, captured I'Amour de la Patrie 6, with 80 men, and le 
Tartuffe 8, with 60 men. The Merrimack 24, Captain Brown, la 
Magieicnne 14, with 63 men, and le Bonaparte. The Portsmouth 
24, Captain M'Niell, le Fripon, and I'Ami 6, with 16 men. The 
Eagle 14, Captain Campbell, le Eon Pere 6, with 52 men. 

A second squadron, under the orders of Captain Truxtun, had its 
rendezvous at St. Kitts, and cruised as far to leeward as Porto Rico. 
It consisted of the 

Constellation 38, Com. Truxtun. 
Baltimore 20, Capt. Phillips. 

Richmond 18, " S. Barron. 

Norfolk 18, " Williams. 

Virginia 14, " Bright. 

The Baltimore took I'Esperance, and was present at the capture 
of la Sirf'-ne 4, with 36 men. This ship was put under the command 
of Captain Barron, soon after the dismissal of Captain Phillips from 
the service, and before the close of the season was commanded by 
Captain Cowper. The Constellation took la Diligente and I'Union. 
A small force under the orders of Captain Tingey, watched the 
passage between Cuba and St. Domingo. It consisted of the 



168 NAVAL HISTORY. [1799. 



Ganges 24, Capt. Tingey. 

Pinckney 18, " Hayward. 

South Carolina 12, " Payne. 
The Ganges took le Vengeur 6, ha Rabateuse, I'Eugene, and I'Es- 
perance 8. 

The Dehaware 20, Captain Decatur, with tlie revenue vessels Gov- 
ernor Jay 14, and General Greene 10, was directed to cruise in the 
vicinity of the Havana, to protect the trade on the coast of Cuba. 
-The Delaware captured the Marsuin 10, and the same ship, later in 
the season, under the orders of Captain Baker, took le Renard and 
I'Ocean. The Montezuma 20, Captain Murray, after the capture 
of the Retaliation, and the return of the Norfolk 18, to America, 
cruised some time alone, taking a small privateer of six guns. 

Although the year commenced with this disposition of the vessels, 
many changes occurred, as the new ships were got to sea, and par- 
ticularly on account of the great mistake of shipping the crews for a 
lerm as short as one year. It followed, of course, that the vessels 
which sailed in .July and August, 1798, for the West India station, 
if called there by no other cause, were compelled to return home in 
the summer of 1799, to discharge their crews, and to obtain others in 
their places. It was fortunate that the spirit of the times, the absence 
of privateers, and an abundance of men, in some measure, remedied 
this defect, and that the delays it caused were not as material as 
might have been otherwise apprehended. 

On the 9th of February, the Constellation 38, Commodore Trux- 
tun, was cruising on her prescribed ground, Nevis bearing W. S. W., 
distant five leagues, when she made a large ship in the southern 
board. The Constellation being to windward at the moment, Com- 
modore Truxtun ran down towards the stranger, who now set Amer- 
ican colours, when the private signals were shown. As the chase 
was unable to answer, he seemed to think further disguise unneces- 
sary, for he hoisted the French ensign, and fired a gun to windward, 
by way of a challenge, keeping under easy sail, to invite the contest. 
This was the first opportunity that had occurred since the close of 
the Revolution, for an American vessel of war, to get alongside of 
an enemy, of a force likely to render a combat certain, and the offi- 
cers and men of the Constellation displayed the greatest eagerness to 
engage. On the other hand, the stranger betrayed no desire to dis- 
appoint his enemy, waiting gallantly for her to come down. When 
the Constellation had got abeam of the French frigate, and so near 
as to have been several times hailed, she opened her fire, which was 
returned promptly and with spirit The Constellation drew gradually 
ahead, both ships maintainingafiercecannonade. The former suf- 
fered most in her sails and rigging, and while under the heaviest of 
the fire of her antagonist, the fore-top-mast was badly wounded, (|uite 
near the lower cap. The fore-top was commanded by Mr. David 
Porter, a midshipman of great promise, and finding that his hails to 
communicate this important circinnstance were disregarded, in the 
heat of the combat, this young officer took on himself the responsi- 
bility of cutting tlie stojjpers and of lowering the yard. By thus 



1799.] NAVAL HISTORY. 169 

relieving the spar of the pressure of the sail, he prevented the fall of 
the top-mast and all its hamper. In the mean time the weiglit and 
eftect of the fire were altogether in favour of the Constellation, and 
notwithstanding the injury she received in her fore-topmast, that 
ship was soon able to throw in two or three raking broadsides, which 
decided the combat. After maintaining a close contest, in this man- 
nei", of about an hour, the Constellation shot out of the smoke, wore 
round, and hauling athwart her antagonist's stern was ready again 
with every gun to rake her, when the enemy struck. 

The prize proved to be the French frigate I'lnsurgente, Captain 
Barreault, the vessel that has already been mentioned, as having 
captured the Retaliation, and chasing the Montezuma and Norfolk, 
and one of the fastest shi])s in the world. She was much cut up, and 
had sustained a loss of 70 men, in killed and wounded ; 29 of the 
former, and 41 of the latter. The Constellation, besides the loss of 
the forc-top-mast, which had to be shifted, was much damaged aloft, 
suffering no material injury in her hull, however, and had only 3 men 
wounded. Among the latter, was Mr. James M'Donough, a mid- 
shipman, who had a foot shot off. Early in the combat, one of the 
men flinched from his gun, and he was killed by the third lieutenant, 
to whose division he belonged. 

The Insurgente's armament consisted of 40 guns, French twelves, 
on her main-deck battery, and her complement of men was 409. 
She was a ship a little heavier than a regular 32, which would pro- 
bably have been her rate in the English marine, although a French 
twelve-pound shot weighs nearly thirteen English pounds. On this 
occasion, the Constellation is said to have carried but 38 guns, twelve 
less than have been put upon her since the introduction of carron- 
ades, and she had a crew of 309 men. But the main-deck battery 
of the Constellation was composed of twenty-fours, a gun altogether 
too heavy for her size and strength, and from which she was relieved 
at the termination of this cruise, by exchanging lier armament for 
eigliteens.* 

The result of this engagement produced great exultation in Amer- 
ica, and it was deemed a proof of an aptitude to nautical service, that 
was very grateful to the national pride. Without pausing to examine 
details, the country claimed it as a victory of a 38 over a 40 ; and 
the new marine was, at once, proclaimed to be equal to any in the 
world ; a decision somewhat hazardous when made on a single ex- 
periment, and which was certainly formed without a full understand- 
ing of the whole subject. It is due to a gallant enemy, to say that 
Captain Barreault, who defended his ship as long as there was a hope 
of success, was overcome by a superior force ; and it is also due to 
. Commodore Truxtun, and to those under his command, to add that 
they did their work with an expedition and effect every way propor- 
tioned to the disparity in their favour. There is scarcely an instance 
on record, (we are not certain there is one,) of a full-manned frigate, 
carrying twelves, prevailing in a contest with even a ship of eigliteens ; 

*See note B, end of volume. 



170 NAVAL HISTORY. [1799. 

and, ill tliis instance, we see that the Insurgente had twenty-fours to 
oppose. Victory was next to hopeless, under such circumstances, 
though, on the other hand, we are not to overlook the readiness with 
which a conflict with an uidvnown antagonist was sought, and tlie 
neatness and despatch witli which the hattle was won. 

The Insurgente struck about half past three in the afternoon, and 
Mr. Rodgers,* the first lieutenant of the Constellation, together with 
Mr. Porter,t and eleven men, were thrown on board her, to take 
possession, and to superintend the removal of the prisoners. It be- 
gan to blow, and when the darkness rendered it necessary to defer the 
duty, 173 of the prize's crew were still in her. The wind continued 
to rise, and, notwithstanding every effort, the ships separated in the 
darkness. 

The situation of Mr. Rodgers was now exceedingly critical. The 
vessel was still covered with the wreck, while the wounded, and even 
the dead were lying scattered about her decks, and the prisoners early 
discovered a disposition to rise. The gratings had been thrown over- 
board by the people of the Insurgente after she struck, and no hand- 
cutfs could be found. Fortunately, Mr. Rodgers was a man of great 
personal resolution, and of hei"culean strength, while Mr. Porter, 
though young and comparatively slight, was as good a second, in 
such trying circumstances, as any one could desire. As soon as it 
was ascertained that the prisoners could not be got out of the ship that 
night, they were all sent into the lower hold, the fire-arms were 
secured, and a sentinel was placed at each hatchway, armed to the 
teeth, wiih positive orders to shoot every man who should attempt to 
appear on deck, without permission. In this awkward situation, 
Mr. Rodgers and his party continued three days, unable to sleep, 
compelled to manage a frigate, and to watch their prisoners, with the 
utmost vigilance, as the latter were constantly on the look-out for an 
opportunity to retake the ship. At- the end of that time, they carried 
the Insurgente, in triumph, into St. Kitts, where they found that the 
Constellation had already arrived. 

Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Cowper, the first and second lieutenants of 
the Constellation, were soon after promoted to be captains, great 
irregularity existing in the service, at that day, on subjects of this 
nature. The rank of master commandant had been established, but 
the government appeared to think that it was still organising a 
marine, and it was empowered to exercise its discretion, in trans- 
ferring oflicei's at will, from one grade to another, so long as no one 
was r<>duced from a former station. Captain Rodgers Avas appointed 
to the Maryland 20, and Captain Cowper to the Baltimore 20. 

One of the eftects of the victory of the Constellation was to I'ender 
the navy still more popular, and the most respectable families of the 
nation discovered greater anxiety than ever to get their sons enrolled 
on their lists. The new ships were put into the water as fast as pos- 
sible, and, as soon as manned and equipped, were sent on the difler- 
ent cruising grounds. L'Insurgente was taken into the service as a 

* Late Commodore Rodgers. t Late Commodore Porter. 



1800.] NAVAL HISTORY. 171 

thirty-six, the command of her was given to Captain Murray, late of 
the Montezuma 20, and she was permitted to cruise with a roving 
commission. 

In the mean time, the care of the government appeared to extend 
itself, audit began to cast its eyes beyond the hazards of the Ameri- 
can seas. 

At the close of the year, the Congress 38, Captain Sever, and Essex 
32, Captain Preble, sailed with orders to convoy vessels as far as Ba- 
tavia. The former of these vessels met with an accident to which 
all new ships are liable on quitting America in the winter. Her 
rigging having been set up in cold weather, it became slack when she 
got into the gulf stream, where she also encountered a strong south- 
erly gale, and she lost not only all her masts, but her bowsprit. The 
main-mast went while Mr. Bosworth, the fourth lieutenant, was aloft, 
endeavouring to lower the main-topmast, by which accident that offi- 
cer was lost. The crew of the top were all happily saved.* 

The Congress returned to port, for repairs, but Captain Preble 
proceeded on his cruise, carrying the pennant, for the first time, in a 
regular cruiser, to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope. 

The active measures resorted to by the American government hav- 
ing better disposed that of France to negotiate, and pledges having 
been given that new ministers would be received with more respect 
than had been shown to those last sent, who had met with insults and 
neglect, the United States 44, Commodore Barry, sailed from New- 
port, Rhode Island, on tlie 3d of November, having on board envoys 
to the French Directory. Notwithstanding these measures to obtain 
peace. Congress proceeded in the legislation necessary to establish a 
marine. Many of the laws for the government of the navy were 
amended, and new regulations were introduced as substitutes for such 
of the old ones as were found defective. The appropriation for the 
support of the navy, during the year 1800, the marine corps included, 
amounted to $2,482,953 90. 

The new year conserpiently opened with increased efibrts to con- 
tinue the singular war that had now existed eighteen months. Many 
acquisitions were made to the navy, and the following is a list of the 
vessels that appear to have been employed in the course of the season, 
principally in the AVest Indies, viz : 



United States 


44, 


President 


44, 


Constitution 


44, 


Constellation 


38, 


Congress 


38, 


Delaware 


20, 


Chesapeake 


38, 


Baltimore 


20, 


Philadelphia 


38, 


Maryland 


20, 



* A similar accident was near occum'ng to the Uniferl States 44, in her first ernise, un- 
der Commodore Barry. After the ship trot into the gulf stream, the rigging slackened, 
when she was scudding ten luiots in a gale, and rolling nearly gunwale to. While all 
on hoard were trembling for the masts, Mr. .Tames Barron, the third lieutenant, proposed 
to Commodore Barry to set up the rigging, confidently declaring his ability to do .so. This 
bold offer was accepted, and Mr. Ban-on got purchases on every other shroad. and by 
swaying together at the call, under the vigilant superintendence of the officers, this deli- 
cate undertaking was accomplished with success, and the ship's masts were saved. It 
ought to be remembered that few of the masts in this war were made, but that they were 
mostly single sticks. 



36, 


Patapsco 


20, 


36, 


Herald 


18, 


32, 


Norfolk 


18, 


28, 


Richmond 


18, 


28, 


Pinckiiey 


18, 


28, 


Warren 


18, 


2S, 


Eagle 


14, 


24, 


Pickering 


14, 


24, 


Augusta 


14, 


24, 


Scammel 


14, 


24, 


Enterprise 


12, 


24, 


Experiment 


12. 



172 NAVAL HISTORY. [1800. 

New York 

Insurgente 

Essex 

General Greene 

Adams 

Jolin Adams 

Boston 

Geo. Washington 24, 

Connecticut 

Ganges 

Trumbull 

Portsmouth 

Merrimack 24, 

By this time, the revenue vessels, with the exception of one or two, 
appear to have been retained at home, and in the foregoing list, no 
mention is made of galleys. Laws had been previously passed for 
the construction of six seventy-fours, and contracts were already made 
for the collection of the necessary materials. 

The cruising portion of the vessels were distributed in two princi- 
pal squadrons, the one on the St. Domingo station under the orders 
of Commodore Talbot, whose broad pennant was flying in the Con- 
stitution 44, and the other on the Guadaloupe station, under the or- 
ders, first of Commodore Truxtun, in the Constellation 38, and next 
under the orders of Commodore Decatur, in the Philadelphia 38. 
The fi:)rce of the former varied from seven to twelve vessels, while 
the latter, in April, consisted of thirteen sail. 

Notwithstanding this exhibition of a respectable and active force, 
the great facilities oflered by the islands, and the strong temptations 
that were to be found in the American West India trade, then one of 
the most considerable of the country, induced the enemy to be con- 
stantly on the alert, and the seas were still swarming with Fi'ench 
cruisers, principally privateers. Guadaloupe, in particular, was dis- 
tinguished for the number of captures made by its vessels ; and it 
was for this reason that we now find the heaviest American squadron 
cruisiu"' in that vicinity 

On the 1st of February, 1800, the Constellation 38, Commodore 
Truxtun, was again oflfthe island of Guadaloupe, alone, Basseterre 
being east five leagues, when a sail was seen to the southeast, steering 
westward. Commodore Truxtun at first supposed the ship in sight 
to be a large English merchantman, from Martinico, of which he had 
some knowledge, and, unwilling to be drawn to leeward of liis crui- 
sing ground, be hoisted Englisli colours, byway of inducing her to 
run down and speak him. This invitation being disregarded, sail 
was made in chase, the Constellation gaining fast on the stranger. 
As the latter di-ew nearer, the ship to windward was discovered to be 
a French vessel of war, when the English colours were hauled down, 
and the Constellation cleared for action. The chase was now dis- 
tinctly made out to be a heavy frigate mounting 52 guns. As her 
metal was in all probability equal to her rate, the only circumstance 
to equalise this disparity against the Constellation, was the fact that 



1800.] NAVAL HISTORY. 173 

the stranger was very deep which was accounted for hy a practice of 
sending vakiable articles to France, at that time, in tlie ships of war, 
as the safest means of transmission. Commodore Truxtun was not 
discouraged by his discovery, but continued to carry every stitch of 
canvass that would draw. Towards noon, however, the wind be- 
came light, and the enemy had the advantage in sailing. In this 
manner, with variable breezes, and a smooth sea, the chase continued 
until noon on the 2d, when the wind freshened, and the Constellation 
again drew ahead. By flie middle of the afternoon, the wind had 
every appearance of standing, and the chase was rising fast. It was 
eight in the evening, nevertheless, before the two ships were within 
speaking distance of each other, the stranger having come up to the 
wind a little, and the Constellation doubling on her weather quarter. 
Commodore Truxtun was about to speak to the enemy, when the 
latter opened a fire from his stern and quarter guns. In a few mo- 
ments the Constellation, havinjj drawn still more on the weather 
quarter of the chase, poured in a broadside, and the action began 
m earnest. It was a little past eight when the firing commenced, 
and it was maintained with vigour until near one in the morning, 
the two ships, most of the time, running free, side by side, when the 
stranger hauled up, and drew out of the *;ombat. Orders were given 
on board the Constellation to brace up in chase; but at this moment, 
a report was brought to Commodore Truxtun that the main-mast 
was supported almost solely by the wood, every shroud having been 
shot away, and many of them so repeatedly cut as to render the use 
of stoppers impossible. At that time, as has been said already, masts 
were usually, in the American navy, of single sticks, and the spars, 
when they gave way, went altogether. Aware of this danger. Com- 
modore Truxtun ordered the men from the guns, to secure this all- 
important mast, with the hope of getting alongside of his enemy again, 
and, judging by the feebleness of her resistance for the last hour, with 
the certainty of taking her, could this object be effected. But no ex- 
ertion, could obviate the calamity, the mast coming by the board 
within a few minutes after the enemy had sheered off. All the 
topmen, including Mr. Jarvis, the midshipman in command aloft, V' 
went over the side with the spars, and, that gallant young officer, 
who had refused to abandon his post, with all but one man, was lost. 

The Constellation was no longer in a situation to resume the 
action, and her enemy was in a far worse condition, with the excep- 
tion that she still retained spars enough to enable her to escape. 
Finding it impossible to reach any friendly port to windward, as soon 
as the wreck was clear of his ship. Commodore Truxtun bore up for 
Jamaica, where he arrived in safety. 

In this close and hard-fought action, the Constellation had 14 men 
killed and 25 wounded, 11 of the latter dying of their injuries. Her 
antagonist afterwards got into Curaqoa, dismasted, and in a sinking 
condition, reporting herself to have had 50 of her people killed, and 
110 wounded, in an engagement with the Constellation, that had 
lasted five hours within pistol-shot. This statement is now known 
to be essentially true, and it enables us to form a comparative esti- 



174 NAVAL HISTORY. [1800. 

mate of the merits of the action. The French vessel proved to be 
la Vengeance, Captain Pitot. 

The armament of the Constellation had been changed since her 
action with the Insurgente, and her main-deck batteiy now consisted 
of 28 eighteens, and she had 10 twenty-four-pound carronades on 
her quarter-deck, which were among the first, if not the veiy first 
guns of this description ever introduced into the American navy. 
Her crew was composed of 310 souls. 

It is said that the force of la Vengeanct has been ascertained to 
have been 28 eighteens, 16 twelves, and S forty-two-pound carron- 
ades. Her crew has been variously stated as having been between 
400 and 500 men. The metal was all according to the French mode 
of weighing, which adds one pound to every twelve.* 

There is no question that the Constellation engaged a materially 
superior force, or any doubt that she would have brought la Ven- 
geance into port, but for the loss of the mast. It is even said, that 
la Vengeance did strike her colours three times, during the action, 
but finding that the Constellation continued her fire, they were re- 
hoisted. If such an event occurred, it must have arisen from the fact 
that it was not perceived in the obscurity of the night. 

Commodore Truxtun gained a great name by this action, and, on 
his return to America for repairs, he was appointed to the President 
4-1, then fitting for sea. Congress gave him a gold medal for his 
good conduct, and the gallantry of Mr. Jarvis was approved in a 
solemn resolution. The Constellation was now given to Captain 
Murray, who had just returned from a short cruise in the Insurgente, 
and that officer went in her to the West Indies, where she joined the 
squadron under Commodoi'c Talbot. 

The latter officer had been cruising for some months on the St. 
Domingo station, and about this time he planned an expedition that 
was quite in ciiaracter with his own personal enterprises during the 
war of the Revolution. 

It was ascertained that a valuable French letter of marque, was 
lying in Port au Platte, a small harbour on the Spanish side of the 

* Various statements have been given of the construction of la Ven!?eance, as well as 
of her annamcnt. The papers of the clay contain an account of a Mr. James Howe, who 
was a prisoner on board her during the action, and who is said to have brought in with 
him a certificate from Captain Pilot, that he and the other prisoners on board, 36 in 
number, refused to fight against their country, when the ship engaged. According to 
the statement of this witness, la Vengeance carried on her gun-deck 32 eighteens, 2 of 
which were mounted aft ; on her quarter-deck, 4 long twelves and 12 thirty six-pound 
brass carronades ; and on her forecastle, 6 twelves ; making in all 54, and a broadside of 
26 guns. Her crew is stated at 400 men, including a good man}' passengers, all of whom 
■were mustered at quarters. La Vengeance was described by Mr. Howe as having suf- 
fered severely, having received 186 round shot in her hull. The slaughter on board was 
terrible. 

This account has much about it that is probable. The presence of Mr. Howe was 
authenticated by the certificate ; the stem-guns agree with Commodore Truxtun's ac- 
count of the commencement of the action; and the armament is very much what would 
have been used by a heavy French frigate of the day, on board of which carronades had 
been introduced. A report that she was a ship on two decks, which was current at the 
time, may very well have arisen from the circumstance of her carrying so many guns on 
her quarter-deck and forecastle ; but it is probable that Commodore Truxtun would have 
reported her as a two-decker, had such been the fact. The number of the crew is a cir 
cnmstance in which a passenger might very well be mistaken ; and it is well known the 
French were in the practice of over-manning, rather than of undermanning their ships. 



1800.] NAVAL HISTORY. 175 

Island of St. Domingo, and as she was a dangerous ship on account 
ofhersaihng, Commodore Talbot determined to attempt cutting her 
out. This vessel had been the British packet the Sandwich, and 
she only waited to complete a cargo of coffee, to make a run for 
France. The legality of the enterprise was more than questionable, 
but the French picaroons received so much favour in the Spanish 
colonies, that the American officers Avere less scrupulous than they 
miglit otherwise have been. 

As soon as it was determined to make the effort, Mr. Hull, the first 
lieutenant of the Constitution went in, at night, with one of the frig- 
ate's cutters, and reconnoitred. Commodore Talbot w^as compelled 
to defer the expedition, for want of a proper craft to avoid suspicion, 
when fortunately one was found by accident. An American sloop 
called the Sally had been employed on the coast of the island, under 
circumstances that rendered her liable to detention, and she was 
brought out of one of the small French ports, by a boat of the frigate. 
This sloop had recently left Port Platte, with an intention of soon 
returning there, and she, at once, afforded all the facilities that could 
be desired. 

Commodore Talbot, accordingly, threw a party of seamen and ma- 
rines into the Sally, and giving the command to Mr. Hull, that officer 
was directed to proceed on the duty without further delay. The 
sloop was manned at sea, to escape detection, and she sailed at an 
hour that would enable her to reach Port Platte, about noon of the 
succeeding day. Tn the course of the night, while running down for 
her port, under easy sail, a shot suddenly flew over the Sally, and, 
soon after, an English frigate ranged up alongside. Mr. Hull hove 
to, and when the boarding lieutenant got on the sloop's deck, where 
he found so large a party of men and officers in naval uniforms, he 
was both startled and surprised. He was told the object of the ex- 
pedition, however, and expressed his disappointment, as his own 
ship was only w'aiting to let the Sandwich complete her cargo, in 
order to cut her out also ! 

The Sally's movements were so well timed, as to permit her to 
arrive off the harbour's mouth at the proper hour. The Sandwich 
was lying with her broadside bearing on the approach, and there was 
a battery at no great distance to protect her. As soon as near enough 
to be seen, Mr. Hull sent most of his people below, and getting an 
anchor ready over the stern, to bring the sloop up with, he stood 
directly for the enemy's bows. So admirably was every thing ar- 
ranged, that no suspicion was excited, the Sally ran the Sandwich 
aboard, the Constitution's people went into her, and carried her with- 
out the loss of a man. At the same moment. Captain Carmick 
landed with the marines, entered the battery, and spiked the guns. 

Notwithstanding a great commotion on shore, the Americans now 
went to work to secure their prize. The Sandwich was stripped to 
a girtline, and every thing was below. Before sunset she had 
royal yards across, her guns scaled, her new crew quartered, and soon 
after she weighed, beat out of the harbour, and joined the frigate. 

No enterprise of the sort was ever executed with greater steadiness, 



176 NAVAT. HISTORY. [1800. 

or discipline. Mr. Hull gained great credit by the neatness with 
which he fulfilled his orders, and it was not possible for an officer to 
have been better sustained; the absence of loss, in all cases of sur- 
prise, in which the assailed have the means of resistance, being one 
of the strongest proofs not only of the gallantry and spirit, but of the 
coolness of the assailants. 

In the end, however, this capture, Avhich was clearly illegal, cost 
the Constitution dear. Not only was the Sandwich given up, but all 
the prize money of the cruise went to pay damages. 

Early in May the Chesapeake 38, went to sea, under the com- 
mand of Captain S. Barron. Her first duty was to convey a quantity 
of specie from Charleston to Philadelphia, after which she proceeded 
to cruise between the coast and the West India islands. 

The Insurgente 36, had been given to Captain Fletcher, when 
Captain Murray was transferred to the Constellation, and in July she 
sailed on a cruise, with instructions to keep between longitudes 66° 
and 68'^, and to run as far south as 30° N. L. After this ship left 
the capes of Virginia, no authentic accounts, with the exception of 
a few private letters sent in by vessels spoken at sea, were ever re- 
ceived of her. She had been ordered to cruise a short time in the 
latitude and longitude mentioned, after which her commander was 
left at liberty to pursue his own discretion, provided he returned to 
Annapolis within eight weeks. Forty-six years have elapsed and no 
further tidings of any belonging to this ill-fated ship have ever 
reached their friends. 

The Pickering 14, Captain Hillar, also sailed in August, for the 
Guadaloupe station, and never returned. As in the case of the In- 
surgente, all on board perished, no information that could be relied 
on ever having been obtained of the manner in which these vessels 
were lost. Vague rumours were set afloat at the time, and it was even 
affirmed that they had run foul of each other in a gale, a tale that 
was substantiated by no testimony, and which was probably untrue, 
as the Pickering was sent to a station, which the Insurgente, under 
discretionary orders, would be little apt to seek, since it was known 
to be already filled with American cruisei's. These two ships swelled 
the list of vessels of war that had been lost in this manner to three, 
viz: the Saratoga 16, the Insurgente 36, and the Pickering 14; to 
which maybe added the Reprisal 16, though the cook of the latter 
sloop was saved. 

The nature of the warfare, which was now confined principally 
to chases and conflicts with small fast-sailing privateers, and a spe- 
cies of corsair that went by the local name of picaroons, or with 
barges that ventured no great distance at sea, soon satisfied the 
government that, to carry on the service to advantage, it required a 
species of vessel diflerent from the heavy, short, sloop of twenty, or 
twenty-four guns, of which so many were used in the beginning of 
the contest. Two schooners had been built with this view, and each 
of them fully proved their superiority over the old clumsy cruiser, 
that had been inherited, as it might be, from the Revolution. One of 
these vessels was called the Experiment, and the other the Enterprise, 



1800.] NAVAL HISTORY. 17/ 

and they were rated at twelve guns. The modern improvements, 
however, did not extend to the armaments of even these schooners, 
the old-fashioned six-pounder being still used, where an 181b. carro- 
nade would now be introduced. 

It was December, 1799, before the Enterpi-ise got to sea, under 
the orders of Lt. Com. Shaw. This vessel joined the windward 
Island station, but falling in with the Constellation, 38, just after her 
bloody action with la Vengeance, Com. Truxtun ordered her to 
Philadelphia with his despatches. In March, however, the schooner 
was off Cape Francois, when having communicated with Com. 
Talbot, she proceeded to join Com. Truxtun who was supposed to 
be at Jamaica. Ascertaining on his way to that island, that the 
Constellation had sailed for home, Lt. Com. Shaw immediately hauled 
up for St. Ritts, where the windward squadron had been commanded 
to rendezvous. 

When near the Mona Passage, on her way to her station, the 
Enterprise made a brig to the southward and eastward, and gave 
chase. The brig soon showed Spanish colours, the schooner kee])ing 
her own proper flag flying the whole time. Soon after showing her 
ensign, the brig opened on t!ie American vessel, which had by this 
time got within gun-shot. Instead of returning this fire, which was 
continued, the Enterprise stood on, close hauled, until she had got 
well on the brig's weather quarter, when she gave a broadside in 
return. This was the commencement of a sharp conflict, which con- 
tinued twenty minutes. At the end of that time, the vessels sepa- 
rated as by mutual consent, the circumstance that each still kept her 
proper colours flying having probably satisfied both they Avere not 
legally enemies. 

The brig mounted eighteen guns and carried heavier metal tban 
her antagonist. Both vessels suffered a good deal, though little was 
said of it at the time, nor does it seem to have ever been the subject 
of any political correspondence. It was probably regarded as one 
of those accidents of the sea, to which all cruisers are more or less 
liable, and which ought to be treated as occurrences for which no one is 
responsible. The spirit manifested by Lt. Com. Shaw, nevertheless, 
obtained for him considerable reputation in his own service, and his 
little schooner was considered to have done credit to her ensign. 
This was the first of many actions that this favourite and fortunate 
vessel fought during the succeeding fifteen years. 

The Enterpi'ise, after her rencontre with the Spanish brig, went 
into St. Thomas' to refit. In that port was lying a heavy French 
lugger, which mounted twelve guns, and which was reported to have 
had a crew of GOO men; the number of guns being the same as that 
of the American vessel, while the reported crew was about twenty 
more. Shortly after his arrival, Lt. Com. Shaw received a civil 
message from the commander of this lugger, expressing a desire to 
meet him outside. The challenge was accepted, and, at the speci- 
fied time, the Enterprise stood out into the ofliing. Here she rounded 
ro m waiting for her expected antagonist, but the lugger remained at 
her anchorage. The Enterprise now fired a shot, in the direction 

VOL. I. 12 



178 NAVAL HISTORY. [1800. 

of the harbor, as a challenge to her enemy, repeating the defiance 
several times, but always without effect. The schooner remained in 
the offing, until it was too dark to see any distance, when she bore up 
and ran to leeward of St. Croix. Here she cruised a day or two, 
capturing" a small letter of marque, that struck without resistance, 
and with which she proceeded to St. Kitts, agreeably to order. 

The Enterprise remained in port no longer than was necessary to 
fill up her Avater, and store some provisions. It was now as late as 
Mav, and a day or two out, she fell in with, and brought to action, a 
privateer schooner, called la Seine. This vessel mounted only four 
guns and had a crew of 54 men. She made a very gallant resistance, 
though the fire of the Enterprise soon compelled her to submit. So 
desperate was the resistance of the Frenchman, notwithstanding, and 
so destructive the fire of the American, that la Seine suffered a loss 
of 24 men, in killed and wounded, besides being cut to pieces in her 
sails and rigging. Nor did the Enterprise escape altogether unin- 
jured. She had several men wounded, and sustained some damage, 
though not enough to take her into port. Xa Seine was sent to 
St. Kitts. 

A fortnight after this encounter, the Enterprise, which had 
gone to leeward of Guadaloupe, made and chased another of the 
enemy's privateers. This vessel proved to be la Citoyenne, 6, with 
.57 men. This schooner also held out to the last, fighting so long 
as she had a ray of hope. When she struck it was found that la 
Citoyenne had 4 killed and 10 wounded. In this action, the Enter- 
prise lost a marine, and had two or three, men wounded. In both 
of the two last actions her loss was 1 killed a!]d 7 wounded. The man- 
ner in which these two privateers were fought was highly creditable 
to their commanders, neither yielding so long as there was the least 
chance of success. The Citoyenne was also sent to St. Kitts. 

After cruising in the vicinity of Porto Rico for a short time, the 
Enterprise followed her two prizes into port. As soon as refitted, 
she went out, again, passing between Antigua and Desirade, where 
she fell in with the very three masted lugger that had given her the 
challenge at St. Thomas. Lt. Com. Shaw recognised the vessel at 
once, and closed in expectation of a warm action, but, after receiving 
and returning a few shot, the lugger struck. This lugger had not as 
large a crew as had been reported, but she had a good many passen- 
gers on board her, and amongothers a general officer belonging to the 
French army. Carrying his prize into St. Kitts, Lt. Com. Shaw, 
who had occasion for some hostages, to save the lives of two Ameri- 
cans who were in the hands of the enemy, put the general and a 
captain who was with him, in close confinement, in that character. 
This measure eflected the object, the general going himself on parole 
to Guadaloupe, returning by the end of the month with the prisoners 
liberated. 

The Enterprise seldom lay long at her anchors. Without waiting 
for the determination of the aflair of the hostages, Lt. Com. Shaw 
took her to sea, again, as soon as ready, going off and to leeward of 
Guadaloupe. Here she fell in with another French privateer, the 



1800.] NAVAL HISTORY. 179 

vessels crossing each other on opposite tacks, the Enterprise to lee- 
ward. No sooner did the vessels exchange broadsides, than Lt. 
Com. Shaw put his helm down, and came round directly in the 
wake of his opponent. This manoeuvre, which was executed in the 
smoke, was so rapidly efiected that the Enterprise got nearly a com- 
plete raking broadside at her enemy, four of her six guns having 
discharged into the enemy's stern. As his schooner worked beauti- 
fully, Lt. Com. Shaw let Jier come quite round, on the other tack, 
when he ran his adversary aboard, on his weather quarter, passing 
into him and taking possession without further I'esistance. As the 
Enterprise closed, one of her remaining guns was fired, making 
eleven in all that were discharged in the combat. 

The Americans knew that, on this occasion, they had met with a 
privateer of much celebrity on these seas. She Avas a brig called 
l'Aigle,and she had an armament often guns, with a crew of seventy- 
eight men, a force that rendered her nominally rather than actually in- 
ferior to themselves. This vessel had done much damage to both 
the American and the English commerce, and her commander had 
a high reputation for spirit and enterprise. The easy manner in 
which she was carried, therefore, at first excited some wonder among 
the captors, but it was soon explained by the condition of their prize. 
In this short, but handsome aftair, I'Aigle had 3 killed and 9 wounded. 
Among the former was her first lieutenant, through whom a six-pound 
shot had passed. The commander and second lieutenant were both 
seriously wounded; circumstances that explain the reason why the 
crew deserted their quarters as the Americans boarded. The En- 
terprise had 3 men wounded. The prize was sent into St. Kitts, and 
the schooner continued to cruise. 

In July, the Enterprise had an opportunity of still further distin- 
guishing herself. While cruising to leeward she made a large pri- 
vateer brig, just at evening, near Avhich she remained during the 
night. In the morning the stranger was sweeping towards the 
schooner, in a calm. The Frenchman was allowed to approach, 
until the Enterprise got the sea breeze, when she set every thing and 
gave chase. This sudden movement gave the alarm to the brig, 
which made sail, and both vessels ran off, under studding-sails. The 
Frenchman did not actually run away, though he kept off, with a wish 
to ascertain the character of his foe. Believing himself faster on, 
than off, the wind, the privateersman gradually hauled up and board- 
ed his starboard tacks, without waiting to haul down his studding- 
sails, which was not done until his vessel was close by the wind. 
The suddenness of this evolution, and the previous positions of the 
two vessels, brought the Enterprise right astern, when she hauled up 
in the wake of the enemy. In this manner the chase continued, until 
the American schooner, which was an exceedingly fast vessel, had 
so far gained on the privateer, as to come within reach of musketry, 
when the French opened a smart fire with small arms. The 
Amei'icans returned this fire, imtil the vessels were quite near to- 
gether, one directly in the wake of the other, when Lt. Com. Shaw 
kept off to draw more upon his enemy's beam. In doing so he re- 



180 NAVAL HISTORY. [1800. 

ceived the brig's broadside, when a sharp conflict was commenced, 
and maintained for twenty minutes, witliin pistol-shot, both vessels 
running free again. At the end of this period, the privateer had got 
so much the worst of it, that he attempted to escape, by hauling close 
by the wind, making sail and tacking. In endeavouring to come 
round in pursuit, the Enterprise missed stays. Trimming his sails 
anew, Lt. Com. Shaw waited until he had gathered sufficient way, 
when he got round on the same tack with his enemy. As soon as 
he could again get along side, which was not long, the action was 
renewed. Just at this moment, and when men were aloft endeav- 
ouring to secure the spar, a flaw struck the brig and carried away 
her fore-top-mast. As the privateer had put his helm up in the 
squall, he ran away from his wreck ; while the Enterprise, keepmo- 
away in chase came directly upon it. Lt. Com. Shaw, who was 
now certain of his prize, rounded-to, lowered a boat, and saved several 
of the enemy who had gone over with the spar. No sooner Avas this 
done, than the schooner filled, and ranging up once more abeam of 
the privateer the latter struck. 

On this occasion, the Enterprise captured a vessel matei'ially her 
superior in force. Her prize was le Flambeau, a cruiser of still 
greater renown than I'Aigle, and with a commander of equal repu- 
tation. Le Flambeau mounted 12 guns, the same in number as 
those of her conqueror ; but they Avere French nines, and she had 
110 men on board her. In this action, the Enterprise had rather 
more men than usual, mustering a crew of 83 souls, all told, the day 
of the fight. Le Flambeau had suft'ered severely, having 40 killed 
and wounded, while the Enterprise had 10. 

Lt. Com. Shaw carried his prize to Si. Kitts, and, when con- 
demned, her proceeds were given altogether to his own vessel, as 
having been captured by a cruiser of inferior force. There is no 
question this was one of the handsomest exploits of the war. Though 
it vrent to prove the great advantage that a public armed vessel so 
generally enjoys over one that is private. 

In August the Enterprise, then cruising in the Antigua passage 
chased and captured another of the enemy's privateers, called la 
Pauline, of 6 guns and forty men. As la Pauline made no resistance, 
no one was hurt. 

A month Jater, while still cruising on the same ground, this sin- 
gularly fortunate schooner, after a short running figlit took a letter 
of marque of 7 guns, and 45 men, called la Guadaloup6enne, On 
board this vessel was found the same general officer who had been 
taken in the lugger, and exchanged at the time of the release of the 
Americans, for whose safety he had been imprisoned as a hostage. 

Ill health now compelled Lt. Com. Shaw to relinquish his vessel, 
which was given to Lt. Com. Stewart, the former officer returning 
home in the Patapsco, Capt. Geddes, accompanied by his surgeon. 
Although Lt. Com. Shaw was not immediately promoted, there is no 
question that the services just recorded were the means of his being 
retained in the service, on the subsequent reduction of the navy, and 
of his getting a high place on the list of officers of his o\\'n rank. 



1800.] NAVAL HISTORY. 181 

Such was the estimate of his conduct, that he had been told to pre- 
pare himself to assume the charge of le Berceau 26, which would 
have been a capital command. Events, however, occurred to defeat 
this arrangement. 

Lieutenant Shaw while in command of this schooner, recaptured 
eleven American vessels, besides taking those just mentioned, in a 
cruise of only eight months. It was a proof of the greater efficiency 
of this description of vessel than any other, in a warfare of such a 
nature, that the Enterprise, a schooner of only l6o tons, carrying an 
armament of 1"2 light guns, and with a crew that varied from 60 to 
83 men, destroyed more of the enemy's privateers, and aftbrded as 
much protection to the trade of the country, as any frigate employed 
in the war. It would seem to be certain, indeed, that this cruise of 
the Enterprise was one of the most brilliant and useful ever made 
under the American flag. 

In March, the Boston 33, Captain Little, being near the Point of 
St. Marks, having a merchant brig in tow, on her way to Port-au- 
Prince, nine barges were discovered pulling towards the vessels, com- 
ing from the small island of Gonaives, with every appearance of hos- 
tile intentions. The barges were large, as usual, pulled 20 oars, and 
contained from 30 to 40 men each. As soon as their characters were 
properly made out, the guns of the Boston were housed, and the ship 
was otlierwise disguised. This stratagem succeeded so far as to 
draw the barges within gun-shot ; but discovering their mistake 
before they got as near as could be wished, they turned and began to 
retreat. The Boston now cast off her tow, made sail in chase, ran 
out her guns, and opened her fire. For two hours, she was enabled 
to keep some of the barges within reach of her shot, and three of 
them, with all their crews, were sunk. The remainder did not escape 
without receiving more or less injury. 

After this punishment of the picaroons, which were often guilty of 
the grossest excesses, the Boston, having been home to refit, was 
directed to cruise a short time, previously to going on the Guadaloupe 
station again, between the American coast and the West India islands. 
While in the discharge of this duty, November, 1800, in lat. 22° 50' 
N., and long. 51° W., she made a French cruiser, which, instead of 
avoiding her, evidently sought an encounter. Both parties being 
willini>-, the ships were soon in close action, when, after a plain, 
hard-fouffht combat of two hours, the enemy struck. The prize 
proved to be the French corvette le Berceau, Captain Senes, mount- 
ing 24 guns, and with a crew a little exceeding 200 men. The 
Berceau was much cut up, and shortly after the action, her fore and 
mnin-masts went. Her loss in killed and wounded was never ascer- 
tained, but from the number of the latter found in her, it was probably 
between 30 and 40 men. Among the former were her first lieuten- 
ant, master, boatswain, and gunner. The Boston mounted eight 
more light guns than the Berceau, and had about an equal number 
of men. She had 4 killed and 11 wounded. Among the latter was 
her purser, Mr. Young, who died of liis injuries. The Berceau was 
a singularly fine vessel of her class, and had the reputation of being 



182 NAVAL HISTORY. [1800. 

one of the fastest ships in the French marine. Like the combat be- 
tween the Constellation and I'Insurgente, the superiority of force was 
certainly in favour of the American ship, on this occasion, but the 
execution was every way in proportion to the difierence. 

The year 1800 was actively employed on both sides in the West 
Indies, for while the force of the French in vessels of war seemed to 
decrease, as those of England and America increased, the privateers 
still abounded. A great many American merchantmen were cap- 
tured, and the recaptures also amounted to a nun)ber that it is now 
difficult to ascertain, but which is known to have been large. Most 
of the privateers were small schooners, filled with men, sufficient to 
subdue a letter of marque by boarding ; but, as they offered no resist- 
ance to any of the cruisers except the smallest, a brief catalogue of 
the prizes taken by the diffi^rent large vessels, will at once give an 
idea of the nature of the service that was performed by the West India 
squadrons during this year. The Baltimore 20, Captain Cowper, 
took la Brilliante Jeunesse 12, with a crew of 62 men, and a vessel 
whose name is not known ; the Merrimack 24, Captain Brown, the 
Phenix 14, with 128 men ; the Connecticut 24, Captain Tryon, le 
Pifege 2, with 50 men,rUnite 1, with 50 men, and le Chou Chou ; 
the Boston 28, Captain Little, la Fortune, I'Heureux, and an open 
boat ; Pickering 14, Captain Hillar, la Voltigeuse 10, with 60 men, 
the Fly, and I'Active 12, with 60 men ; Boston 28, in company with 
different vessels, the Flying Fish, la Gourde, le Pelican, and I'Espoir; 
Herald 18 and Augusta 14, la Mutine 6, with 60 men ; John Adams 
28, Captain Cross, le Jason, with 50 men, la Decade ; the Trumbull 
24, Captain Jewctt, la Peggie, la Vengeance 10 and la TuUie ; En- 
tei'prise 12, Lieutenant Commandant Sterrett, I'Amour de la Patrie 
6, with 72 men ; the Patapsco 18, Captain Geddes, la Dorade 6, 
with 46 men ; the Adams 28, Captain Morris, I'Heureusc Rencontre 
4, with 50 men, le Gambeau, 4 swivels and 16 men, la Renommee, 
the Dove, and le Massena6, with 49 men. Several of the frigates 
also made prizes of different small privateers, barges, and boats ; and 
many vessels were chased on shore, and either destroyed by boats or 
were bilged in striking. The privateers taken and brought into port, 
during the years 1798, 1799, and 1800, amounted in all to rather 
moi-e than fifty sail. To these must be added several letters of mar- 
que. But few merchant ships were taken, the French venturing but 
little on the ocean, except in fast-sailing armed vessels. Still, some 
valuable prizes of this nature were made, and several ships of this 
class were driven ashore among the islands. 

The constant changes that occurred among the commanders of 
the different vessels, render it difficult to give clear accounts of the 
movements of either. These changes Avere owing to the rapidity 
and irregularities of the promotions in an infant service, officers who 
went out at the commencement of the season lieutenants, in many 
instances, returning home captains, at its close. In short, the offi- 
cers, like the crews, were constantly passing from vessel to vessel, 
several serving in two or three ships in as many years. 

The Experiment 12, made her first cruise under the command of 



1800.] NAVAL HISTORY. 183 

Lieutenant Commandant Maley, and was much employed in con" 
voying- tlirough the narrow passages, where the vessels were exposed 
to attacks from hirge barges manned from the shores. On the 1st of 
January, 1800, this schooner was becahned in the Bight of Leogane, 
with several sail of American merchantmen in company and under 
convoy. While the little fleet lay in this helpless condition, a good 
deal scattered, ten of the barges mentioned, filled with negroes and 
mulattoes, came out against it. The barges contained from 30 to 
40 men each, who were armed with muskets, cutlasses, and pikes, 
and in some of the boats were light guns and swivels. As the Ex- 
periment was partially disguised, the enemy eame within reach of her 
grape before the assault was made, when Lieutenant Commandant 
Maley ran out his guns and opened his fire. This was the com- 
mencement of a long conflict, in which the barges were beaten off. 
It was not in the power of the Experiment, however, to prevent the 
enemy from seizing two of her convoy, which had drifted to such a 
distance as to be beyond protection. A third vessel was also boarded, 
but from her the brigands were driven by grape, though not until they 
had murdered her master and plundered the cabin. 

The barges went twice to the shore, landed their killed and wound- 
ed, and took on board reinforcements of men. The second attack 
they made was directed especially at the Experiment, there being 
no less than three divisions of the enemy, each of which contained 
three heavy barges. But, after a protracted engagement, which, 
with the intermissions, lasted seven hours, the enemy abandoned fur- 
ther designs on this convoy, and retreated in disorder. The Exper- 
iment endeavoured to follow, by means of lier sweeps, but finding 
that some of the more distant of the barges threatened two of her 
convoy, that had drifted out of gun-shot, she was obliged to give up 
the chase. 

In this arduous and protracted engagement the Experiment was 
fought with spirit, and handled with skill. The total absence of 
wind gave the enemy every advantage ; but notwithstanding their 
vast superiority in numbers, they did not dare to close. Two of the 
barges were sunk, and their loss in killed and wounded was known 
to have been heavy, while the Experiment had but two wounded, one 
of whom was Lieutenant David Porter. 

Shortly after this aftair, the command of the Experiment was given 
to Lieutenant Charles Stewart, late of the United States 44. Not 
long after he had got upon his station, this oflicer fell in with, and 
took, after a slight resistance, the French privateer les Deux Amis, 
of 8 guns, and between 40 and 50 men. The Deux Amis was sent in. 

About a month after this occurrence, while cruising on her station, 
the Experiment made two sail, which had the appearance of enemy's 
cruisers. The Frenchmen were a brig of 18 guns, and a three- 
masted schooner of 14, and they gave chase to the American. Lieu- 
tenant Commandant Stewart, having soon satisfied himself of the 
superior sailing of his own vessel, manojuvred in a way to separate 
the enemy, and to keep them at a distance until after dark. At 
length, finding that the Frenchmen had given up the chase, and that 



184 NAVAL HISTORY. [1800. 

the hng was about a leajrue ahead of the schooner, he cleared for 
action, closed witli the hitter, hy running upon her weatlier (|uarter, 
and gave lier a broadside. The attack was so vigorous and close, 
that the enemy struck in a few minutes. Throwing his first lieuten- 
ant, Rlr. David Porter into the prize. Lieutenant Commandant 
Stewart immediately made sail after the brig ; but she had gained 
so much ahead, during the time lost with the schooner, that slie was 
soon abandoned, and the Experiment returned to lier prize, which 
she carried into St. Kitts. Mr. Stewart probably owed his success 
to the boldness of his mancEuvres, as the brig was of a force sufficient 
to capture him in a fe\f minutes. 

The vessel taken by the Experiment proved to be the French 
man-of-war schooner la Diane, Lieutenant Perradeau, of 14 guns, 
and about 60 )nen. She was bound to France, with General Rigaud 
on l)oard ; and in addition to her regular crew, 30 invalid soldiers 
liad been ])ut in her, having served their time in the islands. Her 
commander had been the first lieutenant of I'Insurgente, and the 
prize-officer of the Retaliation. 

Returning to her station, the Experiment now had a combat that 
was of a less agreeable nature. A suspicious sail had been made in 
the course of the day, and chase was given until dark. Calculating 
the courses and distances. Lieutenant Commandant Stewart ordered 
the Experiment to be kept in the required direction until midnight, 
when, if he did not close with the stranger, he inteiuled to give up the 
chase. At that hour, the schooner was hauled by the wind, accord- 
ingly ; but, in a few minutes, a sail was seen quite near, and to wind- 
ward. The Experiment went to quarters, ran up under the stranger's 
lee, and hailed. Finding the other vessel indisposed to give an 
answer. Lieutenant Commandant Stewart ordered a gun fired into 
him, which was returned by a broadside. A sharp action now com- 
menced, but, it blowing heavily, and the schooner lying over, it was 
found impossible to depress the guns sufficiently to hull the enemy. 
Planks were cut and placed beneath the trucks of the gim-carriages, 
when the shot of the Ex])eriment told with so much eftect, that her 
antagonist struck. Mr. Porter, the first lieutenant of the Experi- 
ment, was now directed to take possession of the prize, but, on 
getting alongside, he Avas refused permission to board. As soon as 
this was known in the schooner, the boat was directed to pull out of 
the line of fire, with a view to recommence the action, .when the 
stranger hailed to say he submitted. 

This vessel proved to be a privateer called the Louisa "Bridger, out 
of liermuda, with an armament of 8 nine-pounders, and a crew of 
between 40 and .'50 men. She was much cut up, and had four feet 
water in her hold when she surrendered. Her captain was among 
the wounded. 

As soon as the nature of this unfortunate mistake was known, 
every aid was afforded the privateer, the Experiment lying by her all 
next day, to assist in repairing her damages. The Experiment 
received a good deal of injury in her rigging, and had one man killed, 
and a boy wounded. 



1800.] NAVAL HISTORY. 185 

Active negotiations had commenced, and in the autumn of 1800 
tlie ho])es of peace became so strong-, that the efforts to increase the 
navy were sensibly relaxed, and the saihiig of many sliips, that had 
been intended for distant stations was suspended. In May of this 
year, however, the George Washington 24,* Captain Bainbridge, 
was ordercti to sail with tribute to the Dey of Algiers. We now look 
back with wonder at the fact, that a maritime jjcople, like those of 
the United States, should consent to meet the unjust demands of a 
power as insignificant as that of Algiers, with any other answer tlian 
a close blockade, and a vigorous war. No better school for the edu- 
cation of an efficient corps of officers could have been desired, ihaa 
a contest with all Barbary, should the latter invite it, nor would the 
expense have greatly exceeded that connected with the support of 
the small naval force, that nearly all parties now appeared to admit 
was indispensable to the comitry. Opinion had probably as much 
connexion with this want of spirit, as expediency or policy, for it 
would be easy to show, not only in this but in all other cases, that 
there is no more certain means for a nation to invite aggressions, 
than by making undue concessions, or no surermethod of obtaining 
justice than by insisting on its rights. The great maritime nations 
of Eiu'ope, with England at their head, influenced by motives pecu- 
liarly their own, had long been in the i)ractice of bribing the Barbary 
States to respect the laws of nations, aiul it was perhaps too soon to 
expect that America, a country that had so recently been a colony, 
should step boldly out of the circle of its habits, and set the first ex- 
ample of self-respect and wisdom. It was reserved for that little 
marine, which was just strugglinsf into existence, under all the un- 
favourable circumstances of a hurried organisation, defective vessels, 
a want of arsenals, docks, and system, to bring the nation up to the 
level of its own manliness and independence, at a later day, and to 
teach the true policy of the country to those whose duty it was to 
direct it. 

The George Washington arrived in the port of Algiers in Septem- 
ber, and feeling that he had come on a duty that, at least, entitled 
him to the hospitalities of the Dey, Captain Bainbridge ran in and 
anchored under the mole. As soon as the tribute, or presents, which- 
ever it may suit the tone of the diplomacy to term them, were put into 
the hands of the consul, a recpiest was made to Captain Bainbridge 
to jilace his ship at the disposal of the Dey, with a sole view to the 
convenience and policy of that prince. It appears that the Sultan 
had taken oft'ence with the reoency of Algiers, on account of a treaty 
it had lately concluded with France, a power with which the Ottoman 

■* In giving llie rates of vessels, except in flagrant instances, such as those in which the 
Chesapeake and Philadelphia arc called forty^fours, and the Adams, John Adams, and 
Boston thirty-twos, we follow the irregular rule which appears to have been laid down in 
tbc scrvi(.'cai the time. The George Washington was much nearer a thirty-two in size, 
thanmostof the twenty-eights of the navy, though in the official reports .«lie is called a 
twenty-four. The tonnage of this ship was fi'2-l tons, while that of the Boston was only 
5,'iO. Sht^had been an Indianian. and when sold out of service, in 180:!, returned to her 
old cni])loynionl. _ The proper rate of this ship would have made her nearer a twenty- 
eight, than any ihirg else. Her last service was to carry tribute to the Mediterranean, 
under Lieutenant Commandant Shaw. 



186 NAVAL HISTORY. [1800. 

Porte was then at war, and his anger was to be deprecated by a 
timely apphcation of presents. The good offices of Captain Bain- 
bridge were now sohcitedin conveying tliese ofi'erings, witli a suitable 
agent, to Constantinople. As soon as a])prised of his wish, Captain 
Bainbridge sought an audience with the Deyj and liaving obtained 
one, he expressed his regret at not being able to comply with Jiis 
request, as it would be disregarding the orders of his superiors at 
home. The Dey now gave his guest to understand that both he and 
his ship were in liis power, and Ids request was put more in the shape 
of a demand. A long and spirited altercation ensued, until, influ- 
enced by the representations of the consul, Mr. O'Brien, the certainty 
that his ship would be otherwise seized and sent by force, the ap])re- 
hension of a war, and the knowledge that near two hundred sail of 
merchantmen were exposed in those seas. Captain Bainbridge en- 
tered into stipulations on the subject. He consented to carry the 
agent and presents of Algiers, on condition that peace should be 
maintained, that the Dey should deem the act one of friendly con- 
cession on the part of the United States, and not one of right, and that, 
on his return from Constantinople, no further demands should be 
preferred. 

When the ship was about to sail from Algiers a new difficulty 
arose on the subject of the flag ; the Dey insisting that liis own should 
be hoisted at the main, while that of the United States should be 
shown forward. In maintaining this claim, he affirmed that it was 
a compliment always paid him by the English, French, and Spanish 
caj)tains, who had been employed on similar service in his behalf. 
After a strong remonstrance. Captain Bainbridge yielded in appear- 
ance, but as he refused to make any pledges on the subject, as soon 
as he was beyond the reach of the guns of the works, he set his own 
ensign as usual. Under these circumstances the George Washing- 
ton sailed. 

At this distance of time from the event, a dispassionate opinion 
may ])erhaps be formed concerning the propriety of the course pur- 
sued by the officer in command of the George Washington. On the 
one hand was the war with France, which might have rendered the 
management of a war with Algiers more difficult than common, and 
the probaliility that the latter would ensue in the event of a refusal. 
But, if France was at war with America, she was also at war with 
England, and the appearance of the George Washington in the 
Mediterranean was a proof that cruisers iiiight be employed in that 
sea, altliongh the nation was without ports, or arsenals. As opposed 
to the general hazards of war, and the particular risks incurred by the 
crew of the George Washington, were those common and enduring 
princi])les of honour and right, by maintainina- which, nations, in the 
end, assert (heir claims in the promptest, cheapest, and most efficient 
manner. It is the peculiar province of the officers and men of a ves- 
sel of war to incur risks equally of life and liberty, as on all other 
occasions, no man manifested more of the true s])irit, in this respect, 
than Captain Bainbridge, the consideration of his own peculiar dan- 
ger, or that of his crew, probably had no influence on his decision. 



1800.] NAVAL HISTORY. 187 

The true question is, whether an officer in his situation ou^ht to 
have taken the responsibihty of producing a war by a refusal to com- 
ply with the demand of the Dey, or whether his duty pointed out the 
course pursued by Captain Bainbridge. No one can hesitate about 
saying that the first should be the decision of a commander of a ves- 
sel of war, in our own time. But Captain Bainbridge was not before 
Algiers in an age when America was as ready as she is to-day to 
assert all those great principles of right which nations must maintain 
with their blood and treasure, if they are to be maintained at all. He 
had himself just been employed in transporting tribute to Algiers, 
under a solemn law of his country, and it would have been a violent 
presumption indeed, to suppose that a government, which had so far 
neglected the just feelings of national pride, and the first and simplest 
principles of policy, as to expend in tribute the money that would 
nearly, if not quite, extort justice by force, would look with favour on 
an act that should produce a war, on a naked point of honour. We 
dislike the decision of Captain Bainbridge, while we distinctly see, 
that in requiring him to have acted otherwise, we require him to have 
been in advance of the opinion of his day, and of the policy of his 
government.* 

It is understood that Captain Bainbridge was much influenced by 
the advice and opinions of Mr. O'Brien, the consul. This gentleman 
had been one of the first prisoners taken by Algiers in 1785, and he 
had passed many weary years in captivity, almost abandoned by 
hope, and apparently, though not really, forgotten by his country. 
He had probably little faith in the existence of that patriotism which 
is ready to sacrifice immediate interest to future good, and saw in 
perspective a piratical warfare, and captivities like his own, which, 
unrelieved by any feelings of humanity, would be nearly allied to 
despair. This gentleman is not to be censured ; for bitter experi- 
ence had taught him how little is the care taken of individual rights, 
by popular governments, when the evil does not present itself to the 
senses of bodies of men, and how strong is the desire to shrink from 
responsibility in those who arc subject to their judgment and clam- 
our. This is the weak side of the polity, and were it not redeemed 
by so much that is superior to the eflljcts of all other systems, it is 
one that would totally unfit a nation to maintain the respect of man- 
kind. Mr. O'Brien, too, had been educated as a ship-master, and 
probably reasoned more like the agent of a commercial house, than 
the agent of a government that wanted none of the elements of great- 
ness but the will. That neither he nor Captain Bainbridge, frank 
seamen, discovered much of the finesse of diplomacy, is evident ; for 
a practised negotiator, detecting the necessity of submission, would 
have anticipated the final demand, and averted the more disagreea- 

* It has been conjectured that Captain Bainbridge consented to go to Constantinople, 
with a view to show the American Hag to the Ottoman Porte, and to open the way for a 
treaty, and a trade in the Black Sea ; but we know of no evidence of the truth of this 
supposition. It ought to be added, moreover, that the ships of the greatest powers of 
Europe, often performed oifices like that required of Captain Bainbridge, for the Dey, 
and that the former was perfectly aware of the fact. 



188 NAVAL HISTORY. [1800. 

ble features of compulsion, by apparently conceding that to solicita- 
tion, which was finally yielded to menace. 

When the Americans, feeble, scattered colonists, without military 
stores, posts, fortified towns or navy, determined to resist the usurpa- 
tions of the British Parliament, they were influenced by those lofty 
principles of right, which are certain to lead to greatness. It is not 
pretended that the taxation of England bore heavily on America in 
practice, but the resistance grew out of the maintenance of a princi- 
ple; and the result of sacrificing immediate interests to the true and 
elevating policy of the right, is before the world. Even many of the 
well-disposed, who belonged to the school of those who are for con- 
sulting temporary good, and whose political wisdom too often savours 
of the expedient, thought the contest premature ; but, happily, a bet- 
ter temper prevailed in the country, and the nation escaped the risks 
of losing its spirit under the gradual operation of usage, as might have 
attended delay. Immediate good was sacrificed to the great objects 
of a more liberal policy, and we now find that England, so far from 
persevering in a wish to tax colonies over which she does not possess 
the right, even hesitates about taxing those, which, in the way of 
principle, lie at her mercy by conquest. 

It was the 9th of October, 1800, when the George Washington left 
Algiers. She entered the Bosphorus with a fresh breeze at the south- 
ward, and on approaching the Dardanelles, where are two castles 
that command the passage, and where ships are obliged to exhibit 
passports in order to proceed, Captain Bainbridge felt some embar- 
rassment as to the course he ought to take. He had no firman, his 
country was scarcely known at the Ottoman Porte, and he might be 
delayed weeks, negotiating for permission to go up to the town. 
From this dilemma he relieved himself by the happy and prompt 
expedient of a seaman. The castles stand nearly opposite each 
other, on the European and Asiatic shores, and guns carrying stone 
balls, that weigh, in some instances, eight hundred pounds, are 
pointed in a manner to command the channel. These guns, how- 
ever, are stationary like mortars, and become nearly useless the mo- 
ment a ship is out of their regidatcd ranire. The rest of the defences, 
at that time, were very immaterial. The width of the Bosphorus, 
here, a little exceeds three thousand feet. As his ship approached 
the castle. Captain Bainbridge hauled up his courses, clewed up his 
top-gallant sails, and made the usual preparations for anchoring. 
When nearly up with them, she commenced firing a salute, which 
was instantly returned from the shore, and, at this moment, when 
the vessel was partly concealed in smoke, sail w-as made, and before 
the Turks recovered from their surprise, being totally unprepared for 
a thing so unusual, she was beyond their reach. 

Captain Bainbridge now pursued his way to Constantinople, where 
he arrived as much unexpected as he was unannounced and un- 
known. The George Washington anchored the 9th of November, 
in the outer harbour, where she was soon visited by an officer, to 
demand under what flas: she sailed. The usual reply was given, 
and the officer took his leave. An hour or two afterwards he return- 



1800.] NAVAL HISTORY. 189 

ed, to say that his government had never heard of such a nation as 
the United States of America, and to request some more explicit an- 
swer. The officer was now sent back with the information that the 
George Washington belonged to the " New World," which was 
received as satisfactory, the Turkish government extending to the 
strangers much of that polished hospitality for which it is justly 
esteemed. 

The George Washington remained at Constantinople until the 
30th of December, when she again sailed for Algiers, wliich port she 
reached on the 21st of January, 1801. Though much solicited to 
do so, Captain Bainbridge now refused to carry his ship within the 
mole, but kept her out of the reach of the batteries. The Dey made 
a new request that he would return to Constantinople with his acent, 
and though the old threats were not exactly resorted to, the ship beino- 
beyond his reach, war was still held in perspective as the alternative. 
Captain Bainbridge, however, peremptorily refused to put himself 
and ship again at the mercy of the Dey. 

Having borroAved some ballast. Captain Bainbridge was about to 
have it landed in lighters, when the Dey, affecting to be indignant at 
his want of confidence, forbade the lightermen to undertake the job, 
announcing at the same time, unless the ballast was returned, that 
he would declare war. The consul again so earnestly entreated 
Captain Bainbridge to coniply, that the latter, on receiving a solemn 
stipulation that no more should be said on the subject of a new voyao-e 
to Constantinople, took the George Washington into the mole, and 
landed the ballast, which consisted of a number of old guns. 

Captain Bainbridge soon after had an audience with the Dey, 
when the latter got into such a rage as to threaten personal violence. 
Fortunately, the Capudan Pacha had became pleased with the 
manly conduct and tine personal ajipearance of the American offi- 
cer, while the latter was at Constantinople, and, at parting, he had 
given him a firman of pi'otection. This paper was now presented, 
and it immediately changed the savage ferocity of a barbarian into 
expressions of friendship and offers of service. From that moment 
the tone of the Dey was altered ; and the man, whom a minute be- 
fore he had threatened with irons, was converted into a person of 
influence and authority. Such was the effect of Asiatic despotism 
and a ruthless discipline. 

A good opportunity now offered to relieve some of the mortifica- 
tion which Captain Bainbridge had experienced, by affording him an 
occasion to be the instrument of rescuing many Christians from 
slavery. One of the causes of quarrel between the Regency and the 
Porte, as has been stated, was the separate peace made by the for- 
mer with France. To expiate for that crime, the Dey had been com- 
pelled to cut down the flag-staff of the French consul, to declare war 
against his country, and to condemn him and fifty or sixty of his 
countrymen to slavery. Notwithstanding the war which still existed 
between America and France, Captain Bainbridge interfered in be- 
half of these unfortunate people, and, profiting by the unexpected 
influence of his firman, he obtained a stipulation from the Dey, that 



190 NAVAL HISTORY. [1801. 

all who could get out of his dominions within eight-and-fortj hours, 
miglit go away, while those who could not, should be slaves. No 
other vessel offering, the George AVashington was employed in this 
grateful office, and by great exertions she went to sea within the stip- 
ulated time, carrying with her all the French in Algiers. The pas- 
sengers were landed at Alicant, and the ship returned home, where 
the conduct of her commander, throughout these novel and trying 
circumstances, met with the fullest approbation of the government, 
and lie was immediately transferred to a much finer ship, the Essex 32. 

While these events were taking place in the Mediterranean, the 
negotiations for peace with France had been going on at Paris, and 
a treaty to that effect was ratified by the Senate on the 3d of Feb- 
ruary, 1801. All the necessary forms having been complied with on 
both sides, the Herald 18, Captain Russel, was sent to the West 
Indies, with orders of recall for the whole force. 

Thus ended the short and irregular struggle with France, in which 
the present marine of the United States was founded, most of the 
senior officers now in service having commenced their careers as 
midshipmen during its existence. 



CHAPTER XVH. 



Reduction of the navy — The navy as reduced — Vessels sold — Of the war with France, 
as it aftected the navy — Gallant defence of the Louisa. 

Every form of government has evils peculiar to itself. In a de- 
mocracy there exists a standing necessity for reducing every thing to 
the average comprehension, the high intelligence of a nation usually 
conceding as much to its ignorance, as it imparts. One of the worst 
consequences in a practical sense, of this compromise of knowledge, 
is to be found in the want of establishments that require foresight and 
liberality to be well managed, for the history of every democracy has 
shown that it has been deficient in the wisdom which is dependent on 
those expenditures that foster true economy, by anticipating evils 
and avoiding the waste of precipitation, want of system, and a want 
of knowledge. The new o-overnment of the Union was now to expe- 
rience evils of this nature, that are perhaps inseparable from popular 
power, and to contend with the cry of extravagance, as extravagance 
is usually viewed by those who have not sufficient information to un- 
derstand that, as in ordinary transactions, the highest pay commands 
the best services, so in public things, the expenditures made in a time 
of peace are the surest means of obtaining economy in a time of war. 

The commencement of the year 1801, was distinguished by a 
change of administration, for the first time since the adoption of the 
constitution ; Mr. Jefferson and his political friends, who were usually 
known by the name of the republican party, expelling the federalists 



1801.] NAVAL HISTORY. 191 

from power, with Mr. Adams at their head, by a large majority of 
the electoral votes. One of the charges brought against the federalist 
was an undue love for unnecessarily large and expensive establish- 
ments, in imitation of the English school of politicians, while the re- 
publicans were accused of a wish to deceive the ignorant, by pretend- 
ing to a nakedness of legislation and an absence of precautionary 
measures, which, while they would save money at the moment, might 
hivolve the country in eventual ruin, and which would unfit the 
people for the great exertions certain to be required in the hour of 
danger. 

In this controversy, as is commonly the case, both parties main- 
tained principles that were false, and insisted on measures, which, if 
not utterly impracticable, were at least impolitic. The federalists held 
the' doctrine that the people ought to be taxed, if it were merely to 
accustom them to pay for the support of government; and the demo- 
crats, or re])ublicans applied to the management of political interests 
the notion that all that was necessary was to provide for the demands 
of the day, virtually leaving the future to attend to its own wants. 
The first theory was like that which would prescribe periodical de- 
pletion to the young soldier, in order that he might be ready to shed 
his blood in the hour of trial ; while the other may be likened to the 
folly of the agriculturist who should expect a crop, without taking 
the precaution to sow the seed. 

In addition to the extremes into which political strugsles are apt 
to push political controversialists, Mr. Jefterson is known to have 
been averse to most of the measures taken by his predecessor against 
France, and he probably entered into the exercise of his duties, with 
a strong disposition to erase as many of the evidences of their ex- 
istence as possible, from the statutes of the nation. A president of 
the United States, however, is little more than an executive ofllicer 
while confined to the circle of his constitutional powers, and the 
Congress that terminated on the 4th of March, 1801, the day he 
came into office, had passed a law, in some measure regulating a 
peace establishment for the navy. This law gave great discretionary 
authority to the president, it is true, for it empowered him, whenever 
he should deem it expedient, to sell any, or all of the vessels of the 
navy, with the exception of thirteen of the frigates, which were named 
in the act, as in his opinion the good of the country might require. 
To this part of the law no great objections could be taken, even by 
the friends of an enlarged and liberal policy, as most of the vessels 
not excepted had been bought into, and were unsuited to the service, 
more especially at a period, when new improvements in naval archi- 
tecture, that had been borrowed from the French, were fast super- 
seding the old mode of construction. 

The law also directed the guns and stores of the vessels sold to be 
preserved, a provision that proved singularly unprofitable in the end, 
as the carronade now began to supersede the small long gun, in naval 
warfare, and two of the sloops would probably have supplied all 
the nines and sixes that have been used in the navy for the last five- 
and-thirty years. But the most capital error of this law was in the 



192 NAVAL HISTORY. [1801. 

limitation it set to the list of the different ranks of officers. The 
whole of the sea-officers, sailing-masters excepted, were confined to 
nine ca])tains, thirty-six lieutenants, and one hundred and fifty mid- 
shipmen; the rank of master commandant being abolislied, should 
the president see fit to discharge those then in commission. The 
phraseology, as well as the provisions of this law, betrayed tliat ig- 
norance of the details of the service, which has been so conunon in 
the legislation of the country, omitting many directions that were 
indispensable in practice, and laying stress on others that were of 
little or no moment. 

Notwithstanding all the accusations brought against it, at the time, 
the administration of 1801 exercised its authority under the statute, 
which, it will be well remembered, Avas enacted previously to its ac- 
cession to office, with a reasonable discretion, and though it may htive 
made a few of those mistakes that are incidental to the discharge of 
all such trusts, it conformed to the spirit of the law, with a due re- 
gard to liberality. Mr. Jefferson soon discovered, as it falls to the 
lot of all strong oppositionists to discover, when they attain their 
wishes, that he must follow in the footsteps of his predecessor in 
managing most of the ordinary interests of the nation, though the 
party that went out of power did not appear to recognise the whole- 
some but unanswerable truth, that, in the nature of things, all ad- 
ministrations must be right in their mode of treating a vast majority 
of the concerns entrusted to their care. The selection of the officers 
to be retained was one of great delicacy and importance, as the future 
character of the navy depended more on the proper discharge of this 
duty than on that of any other. The great defect of the law, indeed, 
was the narrow limits to which the list of the superior sea-oflicers was 
confined, it being at all times easier to build ships than to form pro- 
fessional men fit to command them. This part of his delegated du- 
ties the president discharged in perfect good faith, apparently alto- 
gether disregarding party considerations. We give in notes* the 
names of the superior officers who were in service, at the close of the 
war with France, as a subject of historical interest with the country, 
and we add tlic names of all the quarter-deck officers who were re- 
tained, to which gentlemen the nation must look for those who per- 
fected the school which has since reflected so 'much credit on the 
American name. 

Although some meritorious officers were necessarily dismissed, on 
this occasion, there is no question that the navy was greatly benefited 
by the reduction ; the hurried manner in which the appointments 
were originally made, having been the means of introducing many 
persons into the service who were unfitted for its duties. There was 
also some irregularity in the mode of reduction, the name of Captain 
M'Niell not appearing on the list of the retained captains, though it 
is certain that he commanded the Boston as late as 1802. This 
discrepancy can only be accounted for by supposing that a discretion 
was used in retaining a few more officers than the legal number, with 
a view to ascertain if all those who were first selected might choose 

* See Note C, Appendix. 



1801.] NAVAL HISTORY. 193 

to serve. In the case of Captain M'Niell, he was on foreign service 
at the time the reduction was made. 

The hiw of Congress directed that thirteen vessels, named in the 
act, should not be disposed of, leaving it discretionary with the presi- 
dent to sell the remainder or not. The following were the ships 
retained, viz: 



Constitution 


44, 


New York 


36, 


United States 


44, 


Essex 


32, 


President 


44, 


General Greene 


28, 


Congress 


38, 


Boston 


28, 


Constellation 


33, 


Adams 


28, 


Chesapeake 


38, 


John Adams 


28. 


Philadelphia 


38, 







We have set down the rates of these ships at what they ought to 
Ijave been, in order to give a more accurate comparative idea of the 
true force of the different vessels, taking the English system as a 
guide. The only vessel that the president desired to retain, in addi- 
tion to the ships named in the law, was the Enterprise 12, and by 
adding this schooner to the list just given, the reader will obtain an 
accurate idea of the navy, as reduced in 1801. 

The remainder of the ships were sold. We give a list of their 
names and rates, marking those which were expressly built for the 
public service with an asterisk, to distinguish them from those that 
were not, viz : 

George Washington 24, 

Ganges 

*Portsmouth 

*M-errimack 

*C .nnecticut 

Baltimore 

Delaware 

Montezuma 

* Maryland 

*Patapsco 

And nine galleys. 

While it is certain that a navy with only one small cruiser, must 

be very insufficient for a service like that of the United States, the 

government ought not to be censured for its selection though it was 

loudly condemned at the time. In nothing had the art of naval 

architecture made greater progress, within the few preceding years, 

than in the mode of constructing vessels of war below the class of 

frigates. The carronade was now fast superseding the light long 

gun every where, and it became the aim of those who were charged 

with the duty of preparing armaments, to put guns that would throw 

as heavy a shot as possible, into the sloops of war. The ships that 

rated eighteen, instead of carrying sixes, or nines, or even twelves, 

began to carry thirty-two pound carronades, and they required greater 

strength, thicker bulwarks, and larger ports than it had been the 

custom forndy to give to vessels of their class. Many of the ships 

sold, had been constructed in a hurry, and of inferior timber, and it 

VOL. I. 13 



24, 


Herald 


18, 


24, 


*Trumbull 


18, 


24, 


* Warren 


18, 


24, 


* Norfolk 


18, 


24, 


*Richmond 


18, 


20, 


*Pinckney 


18, 


20, 


*Eagle 


14, 


20, 


*Augusta 


14, 


18, 


*Scammel 


14, 


18, 


*Experiment 


12, 



194 NAVAL HISTORY. [1801. 

is as unprofitable to continue expending money in repairs on a vessel 
with a defective frame, as it is to waste it on a house that is known 
to be without a sufficient foundation. 

The reduction of the navy, moreover, was greatly exaggerated at 
the time, so far as the vessels alone were concerned. At the peace 
with France, the cruising vessels in service were thirty-four in number, 
and of these, fourteen of the best were retained. No frigate, unless 
the George Washington could be considered one, was sold, and this 
ship had been puixhased into the service, and not built for the public. 
As regards force, materially more than half, perhaps four-fifths, was 
preserved, the eight largest frigates retained being more than strong 
enough to contend with all the vessels sold. This was not the opinion 
of the day, however, for interested political clamour was directed by 
ignorance, and most men counted one gun as another, without re- 
ference to its weight, or its disposition in the vessel. The most im- 
politic of the measures of the government, and it was one of which it 
soon had reason to repent, was the law suspending the construction 
of the six ships, to carry not less than seventy-four guns each, author- 
ised by the act of 1798.* 

The recklessness of political opposition soon made itself apparent, 
in its usual inconsiderate and acrimonious forms; a recommendation 
that emanated from the government, for the establishment of dry- 
docks, one of the first and most important measures in the formation 
of a serviceable marine, meeting with all the ridicule that ignorance 
and hostility could invent, even from those who professed to be the 
strongest friends of the navy. Profiting by the most vulgar associa- 
tion that a want of knowledge could connect with the word "dry," 
the papers of the day kept ringing the changes on this tune, virtually 
accusing the administration of wishing to have a navy on shore! It 
is, however, just to add, that the views of the president extended a 
little beyond the common practice, his recommendation going so far 
as to advise docks for the preservation, as well as for the repairs, of 
ships. Thus did the gallant little service, which already merited so 
much from the nation, and which is so inseparably connected with 
all the great considerations of national character, national rights, and 
even of national existence, find itself compelled to struggle through 
its infancy, equally assailed by its nominal friends, who were in- 
juring its vitals while loudest in their professions of amity, and dis- 
trusted by those who, having made the cry of economy a stalking- 
horse in their way to power, shrunk from the heavy charges that this, 
like all other complete means of national defence, must unavoidably 
entail on the public. Still it preserved its spirit, and finding itself 
relieved from the association of those who were never worthy to wear 
its livery, and believing, with truth, that in passing a peace without 
dissolution, it saw a flattering perspective of service before it, the 
gallant corps that remained, prepared itself to enter on its new duties 

* The materials collected for these vessels, principally live-oak timber, were to have 
been preserved ; but much of the latter was subsequently used in the constracliou of 
smaller ships, and frequently lo great waste. 



1801.] NAVAL HISTORY. 195 

with the confidence and zeal of men who felt that they had fairly 
embarked in an honourable profession for life. 

This period may be deemed that which produced the crisis in the 
fate of the American navy. At the peace of 1783, the service had 
been entirely disbanded, and even the preparations commenced in 
1794, had been suspended when peace was made with Al<<;iers, leav- 
ing little besides the name of a marine behind them. The relations 
of the country with Tripoli, one of the Barbary powers, doubtless, 
had its influence on the fortunes of the service at this particular mo- 
ment, the government feeling the necessity of being in readiness to 
resist the aggressions of another of those semi-pirates who then infested 
the ISIediterranean, 

In the mean time, the proper officers proceeded to carry out the 
conditions of the recent treaty entered into with France, agreeably to 
the conditions of which, all the vessels of war captured on either side 
were to be restored. The Insurgente having been lost, this stipu- 
lation became impracticable as regarded her; but leBerceau, and la 
Vengeance, the small cruiser taken by the Trumbull, were returned 
to the French. In the whole, eighty prizes had been brought into 
the American ports, and of these, three were the vessels of war al- 
ready mentioned. Most of the remainder were privateers. Of the 
latter, eight were acquitted as illegal captures, one, le Croyable, was 
retaken, and the remaining sixty-eight were condemned and sold. 

The loss of American shipping in this war was considerable ; but 
fewer vessels were taken, in proportion, after hostilities had com- 
menced on the side of this country, than had been previously seized. 
No vessel of war but the Retaliation, fell into the hands of the French, 
under any circumstances. 

On the whole, the country was satisfied with the results of the 
exertions it had made during this irregular and informal contest, and 
a strong feeling was awakened in favour of a permanent navy. 
Whatever may have been the private opinions of the new president 
on this important branch of national policy, — and it is believed they 
were neither as liberal, nor as far-sighted, as comported with his 
views in general, though they were far from meriting all the re- 
proaches they received, — he put at the head of the department, Mr. 
Robert Smith, of Maryland, a gentleman who rendered himself justly 
popular with the service, who continued for the long space of nine 
years to serve its interests with zeal and intelligence, and who has 
left behind him, in the breasts of all who then composed the navy, a 
feeling that while their interests were in his care, they were intrusted 
lo one well disposed to serve the country and themselves. 

In the war with France very few privateers went to sea, that 
country having little trade to suflfer by such enterprises, though 
scarcely a merchantman sailed without an armament, and a crew at 
least double that she would liave carried in a time of peace. The 
years 1798, 1799, and 1800, were virtually years of a general mari- 
time war, and the English navy, that great drain of seamen for the 
entire civilized world, was as actively employed as at any previous or 
subsequent period of its teeming history. Notwithstanding these 



196 NAVAL HISTORY. [1801. 

circumstances, the American government, while it suffered many in- 
conveniencies from the shortness of the enlistments, found no difficulty 
in obtaining men during this struggle, although a number but little 
short of ten thousand must have been constantly employed during 
the year 1800. At that time, the tonnage of the country was about 
half what it is to-day, as was also the total number of seamen. The 
enemy was very active, a fact that is proved by the circumstance that 
more French privateers were taken and destroyed by the vessels of 
the American navy alone, in the West Indies, than the country sewt 
cruisers to sea, at any period of the war. Including the revenue 
vessels employed in 1798 and 1799, America had at sea forty-two 
different cruisers during the three years of this contest; and their 
captures, limiting them to the vessels that were actually taken into 
port, amounted within two to double this number; and of these, con- 
siderably more than half were privateers of the etiettiy. Still we find 
the trade but little interrupted, after the armaments were made. In 

1797, when America had not a vessel of war in commission, the ex- 
ports ot the country amounted to a little more than $57,000,000; in 

1798, when the coast was cleared of the French privateers, and the 
war was carried first into the West Indies, these exports reached to 
$61,327,411; in 1799, to $78,665,.528; and in 1800, to $70,971,- 
780. Some fluctuations in trade probably produced the diminution 
of the latter year, as the American coast was then nearly unapproach- 
ed by the French. This truth, indeed, quite clearly appears by the 
revenue on imports, which, in the same three years, was as follows: 
1798, $7,106,061 ; 1799, $6,610,449; 1800, $9,080,932. 

This war, like every maritime contest in which America has been 
engaged with any civilised nation, was also distinguished by many 
obstinate actions between letters of marque and cruisers of the ene- 
my. The papers of the day are full of accounts of this nature, and, 
although they are not altogether free from the suspicion of exagger- 
ations, or from the boastful representations of most similar ex parte 
statements, it is known that some are essentially true. Among other 
combats of this nature, was one Avhich deserves to be mentioned, not 
only on account of the general gallantry of the defence, but of the 
presence of mind displayed at a most critical moment by a young 
man of Philadelphia, under age, who, we regret to add, was lost at 
sea, in the succeeding voyage, and, because the facts are derived from 
a source that puts them beyond dispute. 

In the course of the year 1800, a lightly armed letter of marque 
brig, belonging to Philadelphia, called the Louisa, was standing into 
Gibraltar, when several privateers came out of Algesiras, as was the 
practice of the French in that day, to cut her off from her port. A 
long and desultory action ensued, in the course of which one latine- 
riggcd vessel, full of men, pressed the Louisa hard, and made several 
bold efforts to board, in all of which, however, she was frustrated. 
The crew of the Louisa consisted of only a few men, and when their 
captain fell, with a shot through his shoulder, and the mate went be- 
low for a moment to lay him in the cabin, believing that the battle 
was over, they deserted their guns in a body, going down into the 



1801.] NAVAL HISTORY. 197 

forecastle, Avith the exception of the man at the wlieel. At that mo- 
ment the enemy was at a little distance, keeping up his fire, and it 
was thought, making-preparations for a fresh attempt to board. With 
a view to meet this effort, the quarter-deck guns of the brig had been 
properly loaded and trained, but when the mate, after an absence of 
only three or four minutes, re-appeared on deck, one passenger ex- 
cepted, there was not a soul to sustain him, while the enemy was 
luffing up under his lee quarter, with his forecastle crowded, and a 
long bowsprit lined with boarders, ready to take the leap. He knew 
if the latter gained the brig's deck, resistance would be out of the 
question, even if all on board were at their stations. This was a 
critical instant for so young a man ; but he was a seaman of Phila- 
delphia, the jwrt that then furnished the readiest, the best, and many 
of the bravest mariners that sailed out of America. He ran to the 
fore-scuttle and summoned the people up, " to get a last shot at the 
Frenchmen, before they should get out of their reach !" Such an 
appeal admitted of no delay. The men rushed on deck with cheers, 
were instantly ordered to their guns, and were in time to meet the 
enemy. A raking fire was poured in, the bowsprit was swept of its 
boarders, the privateer tacked and hauled oft", and the brig was per- 
mitted to ])roceed without further molestation. The Louisa entered 
the roads of Gibraltar in triumph, the engagement having been wit- 
nessed by thousands on the rock. 



CHAPTER XVHI. 



Assnraptions of the Bashaw of Tripoli — The Ainevican flag'-stafF is cut down — A squad- 
ron is fitted out under Com. Dale — His instructions — Action with, and capture of the 
ship Tripoli, by Lieut. Comdt. Storrett — Com. Dale overhauls a Greek vessel — takes 
out an officer and twenty Tripolitan soldiers — attemi)ts an exchanc:e of prisoners — 
The President is near being lost — Leaving the Philadelphia and the Es.sex, Com. Dale 
proceeds home. 

We have now reached the period when the American marine 
assumed a fixed and permanent character. No more reductions 
were anticipated by those who understood the necessities of the coun- 
try, nor have .any ever been seriously attempted. Some little time 
necessarily elapsed before it could be ascertained which of the offi- 
cers selected might choose. to remain in service, and resignations were 
frequent for many succeeding years, in consequence of the narrow 
limits to which the policy of the day had reduced this important 
branch of the public service, but, from that time to this, no officer has 
ever been compelled to abandon the profession, in consequence of 
the wisii to retrench, or of a disposition to reduce the establishment. 
The security which this state of tilings tended to create has been 
gradually increasino-, until it would be scarcely too much to say, that 
both the country and the navy, have got to consider the relation 



198 NAVAL HISTORY. [1801. 

which exists between them as permanent and indissoluble. This 
confidence on the one hand, and fostering- pohcy on the other, have 
not been the work of a day, however, but are the consequences of a 
long train of historical events, that it has become our duty to record. 

It has already been said that the necessities, rather than the fore- 
sight of the new government prevented it from at once incurring the 
expense of a marine, and it is probable that, in causing such ships 
to be built as those which were laid down under the law of 1794, it 
looked forward to their forming the commencement of a navy suited 
to the wants and dignity of a country, that all but those who were 
blinded by passion and malignancy, could easily see was destined 
early to become powerful. Something, notwithstanding, must be 
attributed to the peculiar condition of the relations between one or 
two of the Barbary States and the young republic, at the precise mo- 
ment when peace was made with France, and in pursuing- the regu- 
lar chain of events connected with our subject, we are next to turn 
our eyes towards the Mediterranean and to the coast of Africa, as 
their scene. 

As early as in 1800, the Bashaw of Tripoli, Jussuf Caramalli, who 
had deposed his brother Hamet, and now sat on the throne of this 
dependency of the Porte, manifested a disposition to war. He had 
learned the concessions made to Algiers, the manner in which the 
Dey of that regency had been bribed to do justice, and, by a course 
of reasoning that was certainly plausible, if not true, he inferred that 
the government which had been induced to pay tribute to one pirate, 
might be induced to pay tribute to another. The complaints on 
which this semblance of royalty grounded his justification for war, 
are such as ought to be generally known. He accused the Ameri- 
can government of having bribed the subordinates of Tunis at a 
higher price than it had bribed him ; he added, that Algiers had re- 
ceived a frigate, while he had received none ; and even in a letter to 
the president he said significantly, in reply to some of the usual 
diplomatic professions of friendship, " v/e could wish that these your 
expressions were followed by deeds, and not by empty words. You 
will therefore endeavour to satisfy us by a g-ood manner of proceed- 
ing" — " But if only flattering words are meant, without performance, 
every one will act as he finds convenient. We beg^a speedy ansvrer, 
without neglect of time, as a delay on your part cannot but be pre- 
judicial to your interests." 

Shortly after, the Bashaw informed the American consul at Tri- 
poli, that he would wait six months for a present in money, and if it 
•did not arrive within that time, he would formally declare war against 
the United States. Jussuf Caramalli was as good as his Avord. No 
tidings of the money having reached Tripoli, the flag-staff of the 
American consulate was cut down on the 14th day of May, 1801, 
and war was proclaimed in the act. 

While Tripoli went so directly to work, difficulties existed with the 
other states of Barbary. Algiers complained that the tribute was in 
arrears, and Tunis found fault with tlie quality of various articles 
that had been sent to her, by way of bribing her not to seize Ameri- 



1801.] NAVAL HISTORY. 199 

can vessels. Certain planks and oars were too short, and guns of a 
particular description were much wanted. Morocco Avas also dis- 
trusted, althoui>h the prince of that country had not yet dei<)ned to 
intimate his wishes. 

Timid as was the policy of the United States, and disgraceful as 
was that of all Christendom, at that period, in reference to the Bar- 
bary powers, the former was too much flushed with its recent suc- 
cesses against France, and too proud of its infant marine, to submit 
to all these exactions Avithout resistance. Before it was known that 
Tripoli had actually declared war, a squadron was ordered to be 
fitted for the IMediterranean, with a view to awe the different sover- 
eigns of Barbary, by its presence. The vessels selected for this pur- 
pose consisted of the President 44, Captain J. Barron, Philadelphia 
38, Captain S. Barron, Essex 3:2, Captain Bainbridge, and Enter- 
prise 1*2, Lieutenant Commandant Sterrett. At the head of this 
force was Captain Dale, an officer whose career we have had fre- 
quent occasion to notice, in the course of past events, and who now 
hoisted his broad pennant in the President 44. 

The instructions given to Commodore Dale, directed him to pro- 
ceed to Gibraltar, where he could ascertain the state of things amono- 
the distrusted regencies, when he was to be governed by circum- 
stances. Had either power declared war, he was to act against it, 
under certain restrictions ; otherwise he was to go off Algiers, Tunis, 
and Tripoli, in succession, to deliver presents and promises at each 
place, and in the event of his succeeding in maintaining the peace, he 
was to make the circuit of the Mediterranean, in the course of the 
summer, re-appear off the ports of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers, and 
tlje peace still continuing, he was ordered to sail for home in Octo- 
ber. Should ei'ther of the regencies have commenced hostilities, 
however, he had discretionary authority as to the disposition of the 
ships, but was ordered to leave the Mediterranean on the 1st of De- 
cember, at the latest, it having been deemed unsafe to cruise in that 
sea in the winter. 

Soon after these orders were received, the ships rendezvoused in 
Hampton Roads, and sailed for their place of destination. On the 
1st of July they anchored at Gibraltar, where they found the 
Tripolitan admiral, a renegado of the name of Lisle, in a ship of 26 
guns, with a brig of 16, in com])any. There is no question that the 
timely appearance of the American squadron prevented these two 
vessels from getting into the Atlantic, where they might have struck 
a severe blow at the commerce of the country. The admiral, how- 
ever, protested there was no war, though the information derived from 
other sources, induced Commodore Dale to distrust his sincerity. 
The Essex was sent along the north shore to collect the American 
trade, and to give it convoy, the Philadelphia was ordered to cruise 
in the straits to watch the two Tripolitans, while the President and 
Enterprise shaped their course towards Algiers, as ordered. The 
latter, however, soon parted company from the President on duty. 

The apperance of a ship of the President's force at Algiers and 
Tunis, had an extremely quieting effect on the resentments of their 



200 NAVAL HISTORY. [1801. 

two princes ; and Mr. O'Brien, the consul at the former regency, 
gave it as his opinion, that the arrival of the squadron in the Med- 
iterranean, had more weight in preserving the peace, than if the 
George Washington, which vessel was soon expected, had come in 
with the tribute. 

On the 1st of August, while running for Malta, the Enterprise 12, 
Lieutenant Commandant Sterrett, fell in with and spoke a polacre- 
rigged ship of 14 guns and 80 men, belonging to Tripoli, that was 
known to be out on a cruise against the American commerce. Run- 
ning close alongside, an action was commenced within pistol-shot, 
and it continued with little intermission for three hours, when the 
Turk submitted. During the combat, however, the Tripolitan struck 
three several times, twice re-hoisting his colours, and opening his fire 
again, when he thought an advantage might be obtained by attack- 
ing the Americans unprepared. Irritated by this treachery, on the 
last occasion the Entei'prise resumed her fire, with an intention to 
sink her opponent, but after some further though fruitless resistance, 
the Turkish captain appeared in the waist of his ship, and threw his 
ensign into the sea, bending his body and supplicating for quarter by 
signs, when the fire of the schooner was stopped. 

The name of the captured ship was the Tripoli, and that of her 
rai?; or commander, Mahomet Sous. Although the Turks showed 
courage, or desperation would be a better term, this first trial of skill 
with their trans-atlailtic enemies was far from credhable to them. 
The Enterprise raked her enemy repeatedly, and the consequences 
were dreadfully apparent in the result, 50 of the corsair's people hav- 
ing been killed and wounded in the battle The ship herself was a 
wreck, and her mizen-mast was shot away. On the other hand, the 
Enterprise sustained but little injury even aloft, and had not a man 
hurt. Neither did she sufter materially in her hull. 

The instructions of Lieutenant Sterrett did not permit him to carry 
the Tripoli in, and Lieutenant David Porter took possession, and 
proceeded to dismantle her. Her armament was thrown overboard, 
and she was stripped of every thing but one old sail, and a single spar, 
that were left to enable her to reach port. After attending to the 
wounded, the prize was abandoned, and it is understood a longtime 
elapsed before she got in. When her unfortunate rais appeared in 
Tripoli, even his wounds did not avail him. He was placed on a 
jackass, paraded through the streets, and received the bastinado. 
The effect of this punishment appears to have been difllerent from 
what was expected, for it is said the panic among the sailors became 
so great, in consequence, that it was found difficult to obtain men 
for the corsairs that were then fitting for sea. One thing is certain, 
that, though this war lasted three years, and in the end became both 
spirited and active, very few Tripolitan cruisers ventured from port 
during its continuance ; or if they quitted port, they were cautious to 
an extreme about venturing from the land. 

By a message of Mr. Jefferson's, sent to Congress on the 8th of 
December, 1801, we learn the reason why the powers given in tlie 
instructions to Commodore Dale, did not extend to captures. In 



1801.] NAVAL HISTORY. 201 

alluding to the action between the Enterprise and the Tripoli, after 
relating the facts, the president adds — " Unauthorised by the con- 
stitution without the sanction of Congress, to go beyond the line of 
defence, the vessel, being disabled from committing further hostilities, 
was liberated, with its crew. The legislature will doubtless consider, 
whether, by authorising measures of oftence also, it will place our 
force on an equal footing with that of its adversaries." 

It must be admitted that this was carrying the doctrine of literal 
construction to extremes. While, in the nature of things, it may 
require the consent of two independent sovereignties to change the 
legal relations of the people of dift'erent countries, from those of a 
state of warfare to those of a state of peace, it is opposed to reason 
and practice to say it is not competent for either of these sovereign- 
ties, singly, to change these relations, from those of a state of peace 
to those of a state of war. The power to commence hostilities, as it 
belongs to states, depends on international law, and in no degree on 
the subordinate regulations of particular forms of government. It is 
both an affirmative and a negative right : the first, as it is used by the 
party that declares the war ; and the latter, as it vests the nation as- 
sailed with all the authority and privileges of a belligerent. It surely 
cannot be contended that the American citizen who should aid a hos- 
tile force sent against his country, would not be guilty of treason, be- 
cause Congress had not yet declared war, though the enemy had ; 
and it is equally fallacious to maintain that one nation can carry on 
war, clothed with all the powers of a belligerent, without, by the very 
act, vesting its enemy with tlie same rights. The provision of the 
constitution which places the authority to declare war in Congress, 
can only allude to the exercise of the affirmative authority ; and to 
advance a contrary doctrine, is to impair that absolute and govern- 
ing principle of reciprocity on which all mternational law depends. 
As it would be possible for a nation in Europe to declare war against 
a nation in America many weeks before the fact could be known to 
the party assailed, the former, if the doctrine of Mr. JefTerson were 
true, would evidently be enjoying a privilege all that time, to the dis- 
advantage of the latter, that is equally opposed to common sense and 
justice. The error of this opinion was in supposing that, by cur- 
tailing and dividing the powers of their servants, the people of the 
United States meant to limit the rights of the nation. What renders 
the course of the executive still more singular, is the fact that Com- 
modore Dale had established a blockade, and actually captured neu- 
trals that were entering Tripoli, as will be presently seen. 

The President appeared off Tripoli on the 24th of August, when 
an ineffectual attempt was made to establish a truce. Remaining 
eighteen days in the vicinity of the town, and discovering no move- 
ment in or about the port. Commodore Dale ran down the coast some 
distance, when he crossed over to Malta, in order to water his ship. 
As soon as this necessary duty was performed, the President returned 
to Tripoli, and on the 30th of August, she overhauled a Greek ship 
bound in, with a cargo of merchandise and provisions. On board 
this vessel Avas an officer and twenty Tripolitan soldiers besides 



202 NAVAL HISTORY. [1801. 

twenty other subjects of the regency. All these persons were taken 
on board the frigate, and an attempt was made, by means of this 
lucky capture, to establish a system of exchange. The negotiations 
were carried on through Mr. Nissen, the Danish consul, a gentleman 
whose name, by means of his benevolence, philanthropy, and pro- 
bity, has become indissolubly connected with the history of the Amer- 
ican marine. 

It was soon discovered that the Bashaw cared very little about his 
subjects, as he declared that he would not exchange one American 
for all the soldiers. There was a little of the art of the negotiator in 
this, however, as he agreed in the end, to give three Americans for all 
the soldiers, the officer included, and three more for eight of the 
merchants, disclaiming the remaining six merchants as his subjects. 
Commodore Dale appears to have become disgusted with this un- 
worthy mode of bargaining, for he sent his prisoners on board the 
Greek again, and allowed the ship to go into Tripoli, relinquishing 
his claim on the merchants altogether as non-combatants, and con- 
senting to take the three Americans for the soldiers. 

Finding it necessary to go down to Gibraltar, the commodore now 
left Tripoli, and proceeded direct to the former place. He was soon 
succeeded by the Essex, which also appeared off the difterent Bar- 
bary posts. 

In the mean time, tlie two Tripolitan cruisers at Gibraltar, on its 
being ascertained that it was impossible for them to get out while they 
were so closely watched, were dismantled, and their crews were 
privately sent across to Teutan in boats, to find their Avay home by 
land ; just men enough being left to take care of the ships, and to 
navigate them, should an opportunity occur to get to sea. The 
Bashaw complained loudly of the blockade, as an innovation on the 
received mode of warfare, and the governments of Algiers and Tunis, 
which appeared to distrust the precedent, manifested a disposition to 
join in the protest. The Dey of Algiers even went so far as to ask 
passports for the crews of the two vessels at Gibraltar, with a view to 
aid his neighbour ; but the request was denied. 

While passing, in the manner described, from one port to another, 
an accident occurred, by which the President came near being lost. 
She had gone into Mahon, and the pilot, miscalculating his draught 
of water, struck a rock on the starboard hand of that narrow passage, 
in quitting the harbour. The ship had five or six knots way on her 
at the time, and she ran up three or four feet before her motion was 
lost. It was a breathless instant, and the first impression was very 
general, that she must infallibly go down. Rolling heavily, the hull 
settled off towards the passage, slid from the rock, and again floated. 
These are moments that prove the training of the sea-officer, as much 
as the more brilliant exploits of battle. The commodore instantly 
appeared on deck, and issued his orders with coolness and discretion. 
The ship stood through the narrow outlet, and having got room, she 
was brought to the wind, until the extent of the danger could be 
ascertained. On sounding the pumps, no more than the usual 
quantity of water was found, and confidence began to be restored. 



1S02.] NAVAL HISTORY. 203 

Still it was deemed imprudent to run off the land, as the working of 
so large a ship, in a heavy sea, might open seams that were yet ti<rht. 
But the elements were against the vessel, for heavy weather set in, 
and that night it blew a gale of wind. Under the circumstances, 
Cominodore Dale decided to run for Toulon, as the most eligible port 
in which to repair his damages. This place was reached in safety, 
when the ship was stripped, lightened, hove out, and examined. 

As soon as a view was obtained of the stem as low as its junction 
with the keel, every one became conscious of the danger that the ves- 
sel had run. A large piece forward had been literally twisted off, 
and a part of the keel, for several feet, was broomed like a twig. 
Nothing saved the ship but the skilful manner in which the wood- 
ends had been secured. Instead of the ends of the planks having 
been let into a rabbetting grooved in the stem itself, they had been 
fastened into one made by the junction of the apron-piece and the 
stem, so that when the piece was wrenched off, the seams of the wood- 
ends remained tight. The French officei-s, who discovered great 
science and mechanical skill in making the repairs, expressed their 
delight at the mode of fastening that had been adopted, which it is 
believed was then novel, and they were so much pleased with the 
model of the frigate generally, that they took accurate measurements 
of all her lines.* 

It has been said that the return of Commodore Dale's squadron 
was ordered to take place on the 1st of December, at the latest, but 
discretionary powers appear to have been subsequently given to him, as 
he left the Philadelphia and Essex behind him, and proceeded home 
Avith his own ship and the Enterprise. The practice of entering men 
for only a twelvemonth still prevailed, and it was often imperative 
on vessels to quit stations at the most unfortunate moments. The 
Philadelphia was left to watch the Tripolitans, making Syracuse in 
Sicily her port of resort, while the Essex was kept at the straits, to 
blockade the two vessels at Gibraltar, and guard the passage into the 
Atlantic. Both ships gave convoys when required. 

Thus ended the first year of the war with Tripoli. Although little 
had been effected towards bringing the enemy to terms, much was 
done in raisinir the tone and discipline of the service. At Gibraltar, 
Malta, and other ports, the finest cruisers of Great Britain were con- 
stantly met, and the American ships provingto be entirely theirequals, 
in construction, sailing, and manoeuvring, a strong desire was soon 
excited to i-ender them, in all other respects, as good as those that 
were then deemed the model-ships of the world. A similar opportu- 
nity had occurred while cruising in the West Indies ; but then a large 
proportion of the vessels employed were of inferior qualities, and 

* On this occasion, the President was hove out on one side only. In order to fasten, 
caulk, and copper underneath the keel, the follovviug inc^enious plan was adopted : A 
deep punt, or scow, was sunk, by means of ballast, until its upper edge was brought 
nearly a-wash. This scow had three compartments, one in the centre to hold the ballast, 
and one in each end to contain a workman. When sufBciently down in the \%atcr, the 
scow was floated beneath the keel, and as the workman stood erect, and had suflicient 
room to use his limbs and his tools, it is evident that he could execute his task as readily 
ae any ordinary shipwright on a staging, who was obliged to work above his own head. 



204 NAVAL HISTORY. [1802. 

some of tlie officers were unfit to hold commissions in any service. 
All the purchased ships had now been sold, and the reduction law 
had cleared the lists of those who would be likely to lessen the am- 
bition, or alarm the pride of an aspiring and sensitive marine. Each 
day added to the knowledge, tone, esprit de corps, and seamanship 
of the younger officers ; and as these opportunities continued to 
increase throughout the whole of the Mediterranean service, the navy 
rapidly went on improving, until the commander of an American 
ship was as ready to meet comparisons, as the commander of anv 
vessel of war that floated. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Mediterranean sqnadi-on, under Com. Morris — Resignation of Com. Ti-uxlun — Sketch 
of hi.s life — The Boston, Capt. M'Nicll, carries out Mr. Livingston minister to France — 
joins the Mediterranean squadron — Notice of Capt. M'Nicll — Attack on gun-boats off 
Tripoli — Explosion on board the New York — Intrepid conduct of Capt. Chaunccy — 
The John Adams, Capt. Rodgers, blockades Tripoli — detains the Mesliouda — Bravery 
of Capt. Porter at Old Tripoli — description of the town and port — Unsuccessfal attempt 
to negotiate a peace — Attack on a Tripolitan corsair, by Capt. Rodgers — After a smart 
cannonade fihe blows up — Recall of Com. Morris — He is dismissed from the navy — 
^Remarks — Sketch of his life — Notice of Com. Barry — of Com. Dale. 

Early in the year 1802, Congress enacted laws that obviated all 
the constitutional scruples of the executive, and whicli fully author- 
ised the capture and condemnation of any Tripolitan vessels that 
might be found. It is Avorthy of remark, that this law itself did not 
contain a formal declaration of war, while it provided for all the 
contingencies of such a state of things, even to empowering the presi- 
dent to issue commissions to privateers and letters of marque; and it 
may be inferred from the fact, that it was supposed the act of the 
enemy was sufficient to i-ender the country technically a belligerent. 
One of the sections of this law, however, was of great service to the 
navy, by enabling crews to be shipped for two years. 

As the President and Enterprise had returned home, and the time 
of service of the people of tiic two ships that were left in the Mediter- 
ranean was nearly up, preparations were now made to send out a 
relief squadron. For this service the following ships were commis- 
sioned, viz. the Chesapeake 38, Lieutenant Chauncey, acting cap- 
tain; Constellation 38, Captain Murray; New York 36, Caj)tain 
Rodgers; Adams 28, Captain Campbell; and Enterprise 1'2, Lieu- 
tenant Commandant Sterrett. Commodore Truxtun was selected 
to command this squadron, and he had proceeded to Norfolk for that 
purpose, when a question arising about allowing him a capttiin in the 
flag-ship, he was induced to resign.* Commodore Morris was ap- 

* Thomas Truxtun, who will appear no more in our pages, was born on Lone Island, 
New York, February- the 17th. 175.5, and went early to sea. At the conmieucenicnt of 



1802.] NAVAL HISTORY. 205 

pointed to succeed Commodore Truxtun, and shortly after lie hoisted 
his broad pennant in the Chesapeake. 

The vessels fitting for the Mediterranean being- in different states 
of forwardness, and there existing a necessity for the immediate ap- 
pearance of some of them in that sea, they did not sail in a squadron, 
but as each was ready. The Enterprise was the first that left home, 
sailing in February, and she was followed, in March, by the Con- 
stellation. The Chesapeake did not get out until April, and the 
Adams followed her in June. The two other ships were detained 
until September. There was, however, one other vessel at sea, all 
this time, to which it will be necessary to make a brief allusion. 

Shortly after his accession to oflice, in 1801, Mr. Jefferson ap- 
pointed Mr. Robert R. Livingston minister to France, and the Boston 
28, Captain M'Niell, was directed to carry the new envoy to his 
place of destination. This duty performed, the ship had been or- 
dered to join the squadron in the Mediterranean, for service in that 
sea. The departure of the Boston was so timed as to bring her on 
the station under both commands, that of Commodore Dale, and that 
of Commodore Morris. This cruise has become memorable in the 
service, on account of the eccentricities of the ofl^cer in command of 
the ship. After encountering a heavy gale of wind in the Bay of 
Biscay, in which he discovered perfect seamanship, and the utmost 
coolness, under circumstances particularly trying. Captain M'Niell 
landed his passengers, and proceeded to the Mediterranean. Here 
he cruised for some time, avoiding his senior officers, whenever he 
could, passing from port to port, appearing oft'Tripoli, and occasion- 
ally aflbrding a convoy. After a time, the Boston returned home, 
and was put out of commission, her commander quitting the service 

the Revolution, he entered on board a heavy-aiTned privateer, in the capacity of a lieu- 
tenant, and was freqaently engaged wiih the enemy's letters of marque and privateers. 
In 1777, he commanded a private cniiser, called the Independence, with success, and 
shortly after, he was transferred to the Mars, a ship of some force, in which he made 
many captures. In 1782, he sailed for France, in the letter of marque St. James, with an 
American agent on board, and had a combat with a heavier vessel, that had been 
expressly sent out of New York to capture him, which ship he beat off with loss. Captain 
Truxtun commanded Indiamcn after the peace of 1783, and in 1794, he was commissioned 
in the navy, as the fifth captain, and ordered to superintend the construction of the Con- 
stellation 38, then just laid down at Baltimore. In this ship he went to sea, in the war 
against France, and in 1799, he captured I'lnsurgente 36. The following year, he had 
the v^-ell-knowu and bloody combat with la Veniceance ; and soon after, he was trans- 
ferred to the President 44. In this vessel, Commodore Truxtun made cruises in the West 
Indies until the war ended. 

Commodore Truxtun twice commanded on the Guadalonpe station; previously to 
quitting the Constellation, and subsequently to his hoisting his broad pennant in the 
President. At one time, he had as many as ten vessels under his orders ; a force that he 
directed with zeal, efficiency and discretion. He was a good seaman, and a very brave 
man. To him belongs the credit of having fought the first battle under the present or- 
ganisation of the navy, in which he acquitted himself skillfully and with success. The 
action with la Vengeance has always been considered one of the warmest combats be- 
tween frigates that is on record ; and there is not the smallest doubt that he would have 
brought his enemy into port, but for the loss of his main-mast. Congi-ess awarded hiju 
a gold medal for his conduct on that occasion. 

It is .said Commodore Truxtun did not intend to resign his commission in the navy, in 
1802, but simply the command of the squadron to which he had been appointed. The 
construction put upon his communication by tlie de[)aruueut, however, was opposed to 
this idea, and he consequently retired to private life. 

After his resignation. Commodore Truxtun filled one or two civil offices. He died 
in 1S22, aged 67. 



206 NAVAL HISTORY. [1802. 

under llie reduction law.* The Essex and Philadelphia also re- 
turned home, as soon as relieved. 

We have now reached the summer of 1802, and must confine the 
narrative of events to the movements of the different vessels that 
composed the squadron under the orders of Commodore Morris. In 
some respects, this was the best appointed force that had ever sailed 
from America. The ships were well officered and manned, and the 
crews had been entered for two years, or double the usual period. 
The powers given to the commanding officer, appear to liave been 
more ample than common; and so strong was the expectation of the 
government that his force was sufficient to bring the enemy to terms, 
that Commodore Morris was associated with Mr. Cathcart, the late 
consul at Tripoli, in a commission to negotiate a peace. He was 
also empowered to obtain gun-boats, in order to protect the American 
trade in the Straits of Gibraltar. 

As there were no means of bringing the Bashaw of Tripoli to terms 
but blockade and bombardment, two material errors seem to have 
been made in the composition of the force employed, which it is 
necessary to mention. There was no frigate in this squadron that 
carried a long gun heavier than an eighteen-pounder, nor was there 
any mortar vessel. Heavy carronades had come into use, it is true, 
and most ships carried more or less of them; but they are guns un- 
suited to battering under any circumstances, and were particularly 
unfitted for an assault on works that it is difficult to approach very 
near, on account of reefs of rocks. There was also a singular defi- 
ciency in small vessels, without which a close blockade of a port like 
Tripoli, was extremely difficult, if not impossible. It will be remem- 
bered, that the schooner Enterprise was the only vessel left in the 
navy by the reduction law, that was not frigate-built, and none had 
yet been launched to supply the defect. The government, however, 
had become aware of the great importance of light cruisers, and 
several were laid down in the summer of this year, under authority 
granted for that purpose. 

As has been seen, the Enterprise 12, Lieutenant Commandant 
Sterrett, was the first vessel of the new squadron that reached the 
Mediterranean. She was soon followed by the Constellation 38, 
Captain Murray, which ship arrived oflT Tripoli early in May, where 
she found the Boston 28, Captain M'Niell, blockading the port. 
The latter ship, in a few days, quitted the station, and never re- 

* Tlie eccentricities of Captain M'Niell have become traditional in the service. While 
at Sicily during this cruise, a band belonging to one of the regiments quartered at 
Massina. was sent on board the ship, and he brought the musicians to America, it is said, 
without their consent. A portion of these men were on their way back in the Chesapeake, 
in 1807, when that ship was attacked by the Leopard. On another occasion he is said 
to have sailed from Toulon, leaving three of his own officers on shore, and carrying off 
three French officers who had been dining on board, with a view to keep up his com- 
plement ! The latter were carried acro.ss to the African coast, and put in a fishing vessel ; 
but many months elapsed before all his own officers could rejoin their ship. Captain 
M'Niell subsequently commanded a rcveunc cutter, and performed a gallant thing in the 
war of 1812. He is said to have been the son of the Captain M'Niell who commanded 
the Boston 24, in the war of the Revolution, though we pos.sess no other evidence of this 
fact than common report. Neither his seamanship, nor his gallantry, was ever questioned. 



1802.] NAVAL HISTORY. 207 

appeared on it. A Swedish cruiser was also off the port, assisting 
to blockade.* 

After being off the port some time, the Constellation was lying 
three or four leagues from the town, when the look-out aloft reported 
several small vessels to the westward, stealing along shore. The 
wind was quite light, and the Swedish frigate, at the moment, was a 
longdistance outside. Sail was got on the Constellation, and towai'ds 
noon the strangers were made out to be seventeen Tripolitan gun- 
boats, which, as it was afterwards ascertained, had gone out at night, 
with the intention of convoying into port, an American prize that 
was expected from Tunis, but which had failed to appear. Fortu- 
nately the wind freshened as the Constellation drew in with the land, 
and about one o'clock, hopes were entertained of cutting off all, or a 
portion of the enemy. The latter were divided into two divisions, 
however, and that which led, by pulling directly to windward, effected 
its escape. The division in the rear, consisting of ten boats, was less 
fortunate, the Constellation being enabled to get it, for a short time, 
under her fire. 

The wind blew nearly from the direction of the town, and the 
Tripolitans still endeavoured to cross the bows of the ship, as she 
was standing in; but Captain Murray, having run into ten fathoms, 
opened upon the enemy, time enough to cut off all but one boat of 
the rear division. This boat, notwithstanding a hot discharge of 
grape, succeeded in getting to windward, and was abandoned to 
attend to the remainder. The enemy now opened a fire in return, 
but the Constellation having, by this time, got the nearest boats fairly 
under her broadsides, soon compelled the whole nine to bear up, 
and to pull towards the shore. Here they got into nooks behind the 
rocks, or in the best places of refuge that offered, while a large body 
of cavalry appeared on the sand-hills above them, to prevent a landing. 
Deeming it imprudent to send in the boats of a single frigate against 
so formidable a force. Captain Murray wore and stood offshore, soon 
after speaking the Swede, who had not been able to close in time to 
engage. 

This little affair was the first that occurred off the port of Tripoli, 
in this war, and it had the effect of rendering the enemy very cautious 
in his movements. The gun-boats were a good deal cut up, though 
their loss was never ascertained. The cavalry, also, suffered ma- 
terially, and it was said that an officer of high rank, nearly allied to 
the Bey, was killed. The Constellation sustained some trifling 
damage aloft, but the gun-boats were too hard pressed to render their 
fire very serious. The batteries opened upon the ship, also, on this 
occasion, but all their shot fell short. 

After waiting in vain for the re-appearance of the Boston, Captain 
Murray was compelled to quit the station for want of water, when 
Tripoli was again left without any force before it. 

The Chesapeake 38, Acting Captain Chauncey, wearing the broad 
pennant of Commodore Morris, reached Gibraltar May 25th, 1802, 

" Sweden was at war with Tripoli, at this time, also, but peace was made iu the course 
of the summer. 



208 NAVAL HISTORY. [1803. 

where she found the Essex 32, Captain Bainbridge, still blockading 
the Tripolitan cruisers. The latter vessel was sent home, and the 
Chesapeake, which had need of repairs, having sprung her mainmast, 
continued in the straits, for the purpose of refitting, and of watching 
the enemy. Commodore Morris also deemed it prudent to observe 
the movements of the government of Morocco, which had manifested 
a hostile disposition. The arrival of the Adams 28, Captain Camp- 
bell, late in July, however, placed the flag-ship at liberty, and she 
sailed with a convoy to various ports on the north shore, having the 
Enterprise in company This long delay below, of itself, almost de- 
feated the possibility of acting efficiently against the town of Tripoli 
that summer, since, further time being indispensable to collect the 
diflerent vessels and to make the necessary preparations, it would 
bring the sliips before that place too late in the season. Tiie fault, 
however, if fault there was, rested more with those who directed the 
preparations at home, than with the commanding officer, as the delay 
at Gibraltar would seem to have been called for, by circnmstances. 
The Chesapeake, following the north shore, and touching at many 
ports, anchored in the roads of Leghorn, on the 12th of October. At 
Leghorn the Constellation was met, which ship shortly after I'eturned 
home, in consequence of a discretionary power that had been left 
with the commodore.* Orders were now sent to the different vessels 
of the squadron to rendezvous at Malta, whither the commodore pro- 
ceeded, with his own ship. Here, in the course of the month of 
January, 1803, were assembled the Chesapeake 38, Acting Captain 
Chauncey; Ncav York 36, Captain J. Barron; John Adams 28, 
Captain Rodgers, and Enterprise 12, Lieutenant Commandant 
Sterrett. Of the remaining vessels that had been put under the orders 
of Commodore Morris, the Constellation 38, Captain Murray, had 
gone into a Spanish port to repair some damaoes received in a gale 
of wind, and she shortly after sailed for home; the Boston 28, Cap- 
tain M'Niell had not joined, and the Adams 28, Captain Campbell 
was cruising off Gibraltar. On the 30th of January, 1803, the ships 
first named left Malta with an intention to go off Tripoli, but a se- 
vere gale coming on, which lasted eleven days, the commodore was 
induced to bear up, and to run down to Tunis, where it was under- 

* While the ships lay at Leghorn, it blew a gale. The ofEcers of the Constellation 
were on the quarter-deck just at dusk, and they observed a boat of the Enterprise going 
off to the schooner, carj-ying sail in a way that was thought dangerous. At that moment, 
the gentlemen were summoned to their supper, and while at table, an alarm was given, 
of aman ovei'board. A man, in fact, was found hanging to the rudder chains, and he 
was got in nearly exhausted. All he could utter was " Slerrett's boat." This recalled 
the boat that had been seen, and three cutters immediately left the ship to search for the 
rest of the crew. Lieutenants went in the boats, viz. the present Commodore Stewart, 
the present Commodore J. Jones, and the regretted Caldwell. The night was very dark, 
it blew furiously, and the object was almost hopeless. The boats pulled off in different 
directions, and Mr. Jones picked up a man outside the ship. Mr. Caldwell, after a long 
pull, found no one. Mr. Stewart went a mile to leeward, and found a man swimming 
towards the Melora, and on returning, ag.ninst the wind and sea, he met another, sense- 
less, floating with his arms over an oar. Thus were three almost miraculously saved, 
but the midsliipman, Mr. Innes, and three others wei-e drowned. The last man picked 
up was found by the boat's accidentally hitting the oar that kept him from sinkim? ! The 
circumstaEce proves the usefulness of exertions, at such a moment, however hopeless 
ihey may appear. 



1803.] NAVAL HISTORY. 209 

stood the presence of the squadron would be useful. On the 11th of 
March he left Tunis, touched at Algiers, and anchored again at 
Gibraltar on the 23d of the month. 

The reason assigned for carrying the ships below, when it had been 
the original design to appear off the enemy's port, was the want of 
provisions, as well as to make the transfers and arrangements de- 
pendent on shifting the pennant of the commanding officer, from the 
Chesapeake to the New York, the former ship having been ordered 
home by the navy department. The squadron was now reduced to 
the New York 36, the Adams 28, the John Adams 28, and the En- 
terprise 12. Acting Captain Chauncey accompanied the commodoi-e 
to the first of these vessels, and Captain Barron was transfej-red to 
the Chesapeake. The Adams was despatched with a convoy, with 
orders to go off Tripoli, as soon as the first duty was performed. 

On the 10th of April the New York, John Adams, and Enterprise 
sailed, to touch at Malta on their way to the enemy's port. While 
making this passage, just as the music had been beating to grog, a 
heavy explosion was heard near the cock-pit of the flag-ship, and the 
lower part of the vessel was immediately filled with smoke. It was 
an appalling moment, for every one on board was aware that a quan- 
tity of powder must have exploded, not far from the magazine, that 
fire was necessarily scattered in the passages, that the ship was in 
flames, and in all human probability, that the magazine was in dan- 
ger. Acting Captain Chauncey was passing the drummer when the 
explosion occurred, and he ordered him to beat to quarters. The 
alarm had not been given a minute, when the men were going steadily 
to their guns, and other stations, under a standing regulation, which 
directed this measure in the event of a cry of fire, as the most certain 
means of giving the officers entire command of the ship, and of pre- 
venting confusion. The influence of discipline was well exhibited 
on this trying occasion ; for, while there is nothing so fearful to the 
seaman as the alarm of fire, the people went to their quarters, as 
regularly as in the moments of confidence. 

The sea being smooth, and the weather moderate, the commodore 
himself now issued an order to hoist out the boats. This command, 
which had been given under the influence of the best feelings of the 
human heart, was most unfortunately timed. The people had no 
sooner left the guns to execute it, than the jib-boom, bow-sprit, sprit- 
sail-yard, knight-heads, and every spot forward was lined with men^ 
under the idea of getting as far as possible from the magazine* 
Some even leaped overboard and swam for the nearest vessel. 

The situation of the ship was now exceedingly critical. With a 
fire known to be kindled near the magazine, and a crew in a great 
measure disorganised, the chances of escape were much diminished. 
But Acting Captain Chauncey rallied a few followers, and reminding 
them that they might as well be blown up through one deck as three,. 
he led the way below, into passages choked with smoke, where the 
danger was rapidly increasing. There, by means of wetted blankets, 
taken from the purser's store-room, and water thrown by hand, he 
Degan to contend with the fire, in a spot where a spark scattered 

VOL. I. 14 



210 NAVAL HISTORY. [1803. 

even by the efforts made to extinguish the flames, might, in a single 
instant, have left nothing of all on board, but their names. Mr. Da- 
vid Porter, the first lieutenant, who meets us in so many scenes of 
trial and danger, had ascended from the ward-room, by means of a 
stern ladder, and he and the other officers seconded the noble efforts 
of their intrepid commander. The men were got in from the spars 
forward, water was abundantly supplied and the ship was saved. 

This accident was supposed to have occurred in consequence of a 
candle's having been taken from a lantern, while the gunner was 
searching some object in a store-room that led from the cock-pit. A 
quantity of marine cartridges, and the powder-horns used in priming 
the guns, and it is thought that some mealed powder, exploded. Two 
doors leading to the magazine passage were forced open, and nearly 
all the adjoining bulkheads were blown down. Nineteen officers and 
men were injured, of whom, fourteen died. The sentinel at the mag- 
azine passage, was driven quite through to the filling-ro^om door. 

After the panic caused by quitting the guns to hoist out the boats, 
all the officers and people of the ship, appear to have behaved well. 
The order to hoist out the boats, might be explained by natural affec- 
tion ; but we have recorded the whole transaction, as it is replete 
with instruction to the young officer, on the subject of system, sub- 
mission to orders, and the observance of method.* 

The ships appear to have been detained some time at Malta by the 
repairs that were rendered necessary in consequence of the accident 
just mentioned. On the 3d of May, however, the .John Adams was 
sent off* Tripoli, alone, with orders to blockade that port. Shortly 
after this ship reached her station, she made a sail in the offing, which 
she intercepted. This vessel proved to be the Meshouda, one of the 
cruisers that had been so long blockaded at Gibraltar, and which was 
now endeavouring to get home under an assumed character. She 
had been sold by the Bashaw to the Emperor of Morocco, who had 
sent her to Tunis, where she had taken in supplies, and was now 
standina: boldly for the harbour of Tripoli. The reality of the trans- 
fer was doubted, and as she was attempting to evade a legal blockade, 
the Meshouda was detained. 

About the close of the month. Commodore Morris hove in sight, 
in the New York, with the Adams and Enterprise in company. As 
the flag-ship neared the coast, several small vessels, convoyed by a 
number of gun-boats, were discovered close in with the land, making 
the best of their way towards the port. Chase was immediately 
given, and finding themselves cut off from the harbour, the merchant 
vessels, eleven in all, took refuge in Old Tripoli, while the gun-boats, 
by means of their sweeps, were enabled to pull under the batteries of 
the town itself No sooner did the vessels, small latine-rigged 

* It is a tradition of tlie service, we know not on what foundation, that, when an order 
was given to a quarter-master to hoist the sitrnal of " a fire on hoard," in the hurry of the 
moment he bent on a wrong flag, and the signal for " a mutiny on board," was show^n. 
Captain Rodgers of tlie John Adams, observing an alarm in the New^ York, and perceiv- 
ing smoke issuing from her ports, beat to quarters, and ranged up under the stern of the 
commodore, with his guns trained, in readiness to fire. The threatened consummation to 
a calamity that was already sufficiently grave, was prevented by explanations. 



1803.] NAVAL HISTORY. 211 

coasters loaded Avitli wlieat, get into Old Tripoli, than preparations 
were made to defend them. A large stone building stood on a bank 
some twelve or fifteen feet from the shore, and it was occupied by a 
considerable body of soldiers. In the course of the night breast- 
works were erected on each side of this building, by means of the 
sacks of wheat which composed the cargoes of the feluccas. The 
latter were hauled upon the beach, high and dry, immediately beneath 
the building, and a large force was brought from Tripoli, to man the 
breast-works. 

Mr. Porter, the first lieutenant of the flag-ship, volunteered to go 
in tliat night, with the boats of the squadron, and destroy the enemy's 
craft; but, unwilling to expose his people under so much uncer- 
tainty, the commodore decided to wait for daylight, in order that the 
ships might co-operate, and in the hope of intimidating the Tripoli- 
tans by a show of all his force. Mr. Porter, however, went in alone V* 
and reconnoitered in the dark, receiving a heavy fire from the mus- 
ketry of the troops when discovered. 

Next morning, the offer of Mr. Porter was accepted, and sustained 
by Lieutenant James Lawrence of the Enterprise, and a strong party 
of officers and men from the other ships, he went boldly in, in open 
day. As tlie boats pulled up within reach of musketry, the enemy 
opened a heavy fire, which there was very little opportunity of return- 
ing. Notwithstanding the great superiority of the Turks in numbers, 
the party landed, set fire to the feluccas, and regaining their boats, 
opened to the right and left, to allow the shot of the ship to complete 
the work. The enemy now appeared as desperately bent on pre- 
serving their vessels as their assailants, a few minutes before had 
been bent on destroying them. Regardless of the fire of the ships, 
they rushed on board the feluccas, succeeded in extinguishing the 
flames, and, in the end, preserved them. 

This attack was made in the most gallant manner, and reflected 
high credit on all engaged. The parties were so near each other, 
that the Turks actually threw stones at the Americans, and their fire 
was sharp, heavy and close. The loss of the enemy could never be 
ascertained, but a good many were seen to fall. Of the Americans, 
12 or 15 were killed and wounded ; and among the latter, was Mr. 
Porter, who received a slight wound in the right, and a musket-ball 
through the left thigh, while advancing to the attack, though he con- 
tinued to command to the last. Mr. Lawrence was particularly dis- 
tinijuished, as was Mr. John Downes, one of the midshipmen of the 
New York.* 

Commodore Morris determined to follow up this attack on the 
wheat vessels, by making one on the gun-boats of the enemy. The 
harbour of Tripoli is formed by an irregularly shaped indentation 
of the coast, which opens to the north. The greatest depth is about 
a mile and a half, and the width maybe a little more. On its western 
side, this indentation runs off" at an angle of about 25 degrees with 

* It is worthy of remark, that this is the fifth instance in which we have had occasion to 
record the pood conduct of Lieutenant David Porter, in four years and the third time be 
was wounded. 



212 NAVAL HISTORY. [1803. 

the coast, while on the eastern, the outline of the bay melts into that 
of the main shore much less perceptibly, leaving the anchorage within 
a good deal exposed to nortlieast winds. But at the point where the 
western angle of the bay unites with the main coast, there is a small 
rocky peninsula that stretches offin a northeast direction a consider- 
able distance, forming a sort of natural mole, and, at the end of this 
again, an artificial mole has been constructed in a line extending 
nearly east-south-east. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the real 
port is behind this mole, in which there is water for galleys, and 
where vessels are sufficiently protected from any winds. The town, 
which is small, crowded, and walled, stretches along the shore of this 
port, for less than a mile, then retii'es inland about a thousand feet, 
and following the general direction of the wall along the harbour, i* 
strikes the sea again at the distance of about a quarter of a mile from 
the angle at the point of junction between the bay and the coast. Of 
course, the town extends the latter distance along the open sea. The 
shore, however, is rocky, though low, and rocks lie in sight at some 
distance from the beach. On one of these rocks, in front of the end 
of the town that lies exposed to the sea, a work has been built some 
distance off in the water, which is called the French Fort. On the 
natural mole are batteries, one of which is in two tiers ; at the end 
of the artificial mole is another, and several are distributed along the 
walls of the place. 

Near the southeastern angle of the town, and immediately on the 
shore of the port, stands the Bashaw's castle ; the entrance into the 
inner harbour, or galley mole, lying necessarily between it and the 
mole-head ; the distance between the two being about a quarter of a 
mile. The advanced peninsula, which forms what we have termed 
the natural mole, is surrounded by broken rocks, which show them- 
selves above the water, but which suddenly cease within pistol-shot 
of its batteries. At a distance of a few hundred feet, however, the 
line of these rocks re-appears, stretching offin a northeasterly direc- 
tion, about a mile further. These rocks are broken, and have many 
small passages between them through w hich it is possible for boats to 
pull. They form a sort of breakwater to the bay, and the eastern 
portion of the latter being covered with shoals, the tw o together make 
a tolerably safe anchorage within. 

A little east of south, from the northeasterly extremity of the rocks, 
stands Fort English, distant rather more than a mile, on an angle of 
the coast, that may be said to form the eastern point of the bay, 
though it is by no means as much advanced as the western. The 
main entrance is between the end of the rocks and the shoals towards 
Fort English, the water being deep, and the passage near half a mile 
wide. Thus a vessel coming from sea, would steer about southwest 
in entering, and would be exposed to a raking fire from the castle, the 
mole, and all the adjacent batteries, and a crossfire from Fort Eng- 
lish. There is, however, an entrance by the passage between the 
nattu-al mole and the rocks, or through the open space already men- 
tioned. This is called the western, or the little entrance ; it may be 
SIX or eight hundred feet in width ; and the vessels using it are oblig- 



1803.] NAVAL HISTORY. 213 

ed to pass close to the batteries of the natural and the artificial moles. 
As they round the mole-head, they open those of the castle and of 
the town also. 

In addition to the fixed batteries of the place, were the gun-boats 
and "galleys. These boats were large vessels of their class, latine- 
rigged, capable of going to sea on emergencies, as one of their princi- 
pal occupations had been to convoy along the coast. Several that 
were subsequently examined by the American officers, had a brass 
gun Hi feet long, with a bore to receive a shot that weighed 29 
pounds, mounted in the bows, besides two brass howitzers aft. The 
guns were fine pieces, and weighed G600 pounds. When not other- 
wise engaged, the gun-boats were commonly moored just within the 
rocks, and without the artificial mole, where they answered the pur- 
pose of additional batteries to command the entrance. By this dis- 
position of his means of defence, the Bashaw could, at all times open 
afire of heavy guns afloat, on any vessel that ventured close in, in 
addition to that of his regular works. There were two or three light 
cruisers moored in the ujiper part of the harbour, that could be of 
little use except as against attacks within the rocks, and two galleys. 
On emergencies, the smaller vessels could take shelter behind the 
rocks, where they were nearly protected from fire. 

At the time of which we are writing, the gun-boats were stationed 
well out, near the rocks and the mole, in a manner to admit of their 
giving and receiving a fire ; and on the afternoon of the 28th of May, 
the preparations having been previously made, a signal was shown 
from the New York, for the John Adams to bear down upon the en- 
emy and commence an attack. Captain Rodsers obeyed the order 
with promptitude, taking a position within reach of grape, but owing 
to the liglitness of the wind, the two other ships were unable to second 
Iier, as was intended. In consequence of these unforeseen circum- 
stances, the attack proved a failure, in one sense, though the boats 
soon withdrew behind the rocks, and night brought the aflair to an 
end. It is believed that neither party sufl'ered much on this occasion. 

The next d[\y Commodore Morris made an attempt to negotiate a 
peace, through the agency of M. Nissen, the Danish consul, a gen- 
tleman who, on all occasions, appears to have been the friend of the 
unfortuntitc, and active in doing good. To this proposal the Bey 
listened, and one of his ministers was empowered to meet the Amer- 
ican commander on the subject. Having received proper pledges 
for his safe return, Commodore Morris landed in person, and each 
party presented its outlines of a treaty. The result was an abrupt 
ending of the negotiation. 

This occurred on the 8th of June, and on the 10th, the New York 
and Enterprise left tlie station, for Malta. At the latter place. Com- 
modore Morris received intelligence concerning the movements of the 
Algerine and Ttmisian corsairs, that induced him to despatch the 
Enterprise, with orders to Captain Rodgers to raise the blockade of 
Tripoli, and to join him, as soon «s circumstances would permit, a*' 
MaltJi. 

After the departure of the flag-shiji, the John Adams 28, Cai)taia 



214 NAVAL HISTORY. [1803. 

Rodgers, and the Adams 28, Captain Campbell, composed the force 
left before the enemy's port.' The speedy return of the Enterprise 
12, which was then commanded by Lieutenant Commandant Hull, 
who had succeeded Lieutenant Commandant Sterrett, added that 
light vessel to the squadron. Some movements in the harbour, on 
the evening of the 21st of June, induced Captain Rodgers, the senior 
officer present, to suspect that it was intended to get a cruiser to sea 
that night, or to cover the return of one to port. With a view to 
defeat either of these plans, the Adams was sent to the westward, the 
Enterprise to the eastward, while the John Adams remained in the 
offing. 

On the following morning, about 7 o'clock, the Enterprise was 
seen to the southward and eastward with a signal flying of an enemy. 
At that moment, the John Adams was a few leagues out at sea, and 
it was 8 o'clock before the two vessels could speak each other. Cap- 
tain Rodgers now found that a large ship belonging to the Bashaw, 
had run into a deep narrow bay, about seven leagues to the eastward 
of Tripoli, where she had taken a very favourable position for defence, 
and anchored with springs on her cable. At the same time it was 
ascertained that nine gun-boats were sweeping along the shore, to 
aid in defending her, while, as usual, a large body of cavalry was 
hoveringaboutthe coast, to resist any attack by means of boats. The 
ship was known to be the largest of the Bey's remaining corsairs, 
mounting 22 guns, and she was very full of men. 

Captain Rodgers owed the opportunity that now ofiered to attack 
his enemy, to the steadiness and gallantry of Lieutenant Command- 
ant Hull, who, on making his adversary at daylight, had cut him off 
from the town, with a spirit that did infinite credit to that officer. 
The Tripolitan Avas treble the force of the Enterprise, and had he 
chosen to engage the schooner, Mr. Hull would, probably, have been 
obliged to sacrifice his little vessel, in order to prevent his enemy from 
getting into port. 

The dispositions of Captain Rodgers were soon made. He stood 
in, with the Enterprise in company, until the John Adams was within 
point-blank shot of the enemy, when she opened her fire. A sm<art 
cannonade was maintained on both sides, for forty -five minutes, when 
the people of tlie corsair abandoned their guns, with so much pre- 
cipitation, that great numbers leaped overboard, and swam to the 
shore. The John Adams was now in quarter-less-five, by the lead, 
and she w^ore with her head off shore. At the same time, the En- 
terprise was ordered to occupy the attention of the enemy on the 
beach, while boats could be got out to take possession of the aban- 
doned ship. But a boat returning to the corsair, the John Adams 
tacked and renewed her fire. In a few minutes the colours of the 
corsair were hauled down, and all her guns were discharged ; those 
which were pointed towards the Americans, and those which were 
pointed towards the land. At the next moment she blew up. 

The explosion was .very heavy, and it tore ths hull of the Tripoli- 
tan entirely to pieces. The two after-masts were forced into the air 
to twice their usual height, wntt all the yards, rigging, and hamper 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 215 

attaclicd. The cause of this explosion is unknown, though it mio-ht 
have been thought intentional, were it not for the fact that the people 
of the boat that had returned to her, were blown up in the ship, none 
having left her after their arrival. As the shot of the John Adams 
were seen to hull the enemy repeatedly, the corsair is also supposed 
to have sustained a severe loss before her people first abandoned her. 

The .lohn Adams and Enterprise attempted to cut off the division 
of gun-boats, but found the water shoal too far to seaward of them, 
to render the fire of their guns cfi^ective. Knowing the whole coast 
intimately, the latter were enabled to escape. 

The ships before Tripoli, in obedience to the orders of Commodore 
Morris, now sailed for Malta to join that officer, when the whole 
squadron proceeded to difterent ports in Italy, together. From Leg- 
horn, the John Adams was sent down to the straits with a convoy ; 
the Adams to Tunis and Gibraltar, and the Enterprise back to Malta, 
in quest of despatches. Soon after, the New York, herself, wen* 
below, touching at Malaga, where Commodore Morris found letters 
of recall. The command was left temporarily with Captain Rodoers, 
who hoisted a broad pennant in the New York, while Commodoi'e 
Morris took charge of the Adams, to proceed to America. Captain 
Campbell, late of the Adams, was transferred to the John Adams. 

Commodore Morris reached home on the 21st of November, 1803; 
and the government, which professed great dissatisfaction at the 
manner in which he had employed the force intrusted to his discre- 
tion, demanded the usual explanations. These explanations no* 
proving satisfactory, a Court of Inquiry* was convened, by order of 
the department, dated March 10th, 1804, and the result was an opin 
ion that this officer had not discovered due diligence and activity in 
annoying the enemy, on various occasions, between the 8th of Janu 
ary, 1803, and the period of the expiration of his command. In 
consequence of the finding of the Court of Inquiry, the president dis- 
missed Commodore Morris from the navy. 

Whatever may be thought of the justice of the opinion of the 
court, there can be little question that the act of the execulive, in this 
instance, was precipitate and wrong. The power of removal from 
office is given to the president to be exercised only on important 
occasions, and for the public good ; and it has been much question- 
ed, whether the power itself is salutary, in the cases of military men. 
The civilian who does not do his duty, must be replaced immedi- 
ately, or the office virtually becomes vacant, but no such pressing: 
necessity exists in the army and navy, as subordinates are always 
ready temporarily to discharge the duties of their superiors. In the 
navy, this necessity is still less striking than in the army, since offi- 
cers of the same rank are never wanting to fill vacancies. 

But there is a far higher consideration why no military man should 
ever be deprived of his commission, except in very extraordinary 
instances, unless by a solemn trial and a formal finding of a court. 
His })rofession is the business of a life ; his conduct is at all times 

* This court consisted of Captain S. BaiTon, President; Captain Hu£:h G. Campbell, 
and Litutcuaiu Jolin Cassin. Walter Jones, Juu. Esquire, Judge Advocate. 



216 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

subject to a severe and exactiiiiir code, and dismission infers disgrace. 
So general, indeed, is tlie opinion that every officer is entitled to be 
tried by his peers, that greater disgrace is apt to attach itself to an 
arbitrary dismission, by an exercise of executive power, than to tlie 
sentence of a court itself, since the first ought only to proceed from 
conduct so flagrantly wrong, as to suj)ersede even the necessity of 
trial. There was another motive that ouoht to have weighed with 
the government, before it resorted to the use of so higli a power. 
The gentlemen who composed the Court of Inquiry on Commodore 
Morris, were his juniors in rank, and one was his inferior. Although 
the characters of these officers were above suspicion, as to motives, 
the accused, on general principles, had a perfect riglit to the benefit 
of the exception, and was entitled to demand all the forms of the ser- 
vice, before he was finally condemned. 

It has, more or less, been a leading defect of the civil administra- 
tion of the military affairs of the American government, that too little 
of professional feeling has presided in its councils, the men who are 
elevated to political power, in popular governments, seldom entering 
fully into the tone and motives of those who are alive to the sensibil- 
ities of military pride. One of the consequences of this influence of 
those who have merely the habits of civilians, on the fortunes of men 
so differently educated, is to be traced in the manner in which the 
executive authority just alluded to has been too often wielded ; pre- 
senting on one side ex parte decisions that have been more character- 
ised by precipitation and petulance, than by dignity, justice, or dis- 
cretion ; and on the other, by a feebleness that has too often shrunk 
from sustaining true discipline, by refusing to confirm the decisions 
of courts that have deliberately heard and dispassionately sentenced. 

The death of Commodore Barry,* the resignations of Commodore 
Dale,t and Commodore Truxtun, with the dismissals of Commodore 

* John Barry was a native of the comity of Wexford, Ireland, where he was born in 
1745. He came to America a youth, having adopted the life of a seaman as a profession. 
Circumstances early brought him into notice, and he was one of the first officers appoint- 
ed to a command in the navy of the united colonies. In command of the Lexington 14, 
he took the Edward tender, after a smart action, in 1776. In 1777, he performed aliand- 
Bome exploit in the Delaware, at the head of four boats, cariying an enemy's man-of-war 
schooner without the loss of a man. For a short time, he also served with the army, 
during the eventful campaign in New Jersey. In 1778, he made a most gallant resistance 
against a superior force, in the Raleigh 32, losing his ship, but saving most of his crew. 
In 17S1, in the Alliance 32, he took the Atalanta and Trepassy, after a bloody combat, in 
which he was severely wounded. In 1782, he fought a close battle with an English ship 
in the West Indies, being driven oft'by a superior force that was in sight. At the estab- 
lishment of the new marine, under the present government in 1794, Captain Barry was 
named the senior officer, in which station he died. 

Commodore Barry, as an officer and a man, ranked very high. His affection to his 
adopted country was never doubted, and vas put to the proof, as the British government 
is said to have bid high to detach him from its service, during the Revolution. He died 
childless and greatly respected, September 18th, 1803, in the city of Philadelphia, where 
he had made his home, from the time of his arrival in the country, and where he had 
married. 

t Richard Dale was born in the year 17.57, at a short distance from Norfolk in the col- 
ony of V irginia. He went to sea young, and was mate of a vessel in 177.5. After serv- 
ing a short time irregularly Mr. Dale joined the United States brig Lexington in July, 
1776, as a mid.shipman. When the Lexington was taken by the Pearl, Mr. Dale was left 
in the brig, and he was active in her recapture. The succeeding year he sailed, as a mas- 
ter's mate, in the Lexington ; ■was in her, in her cruise round Ireland, and was captured 
in her by the Alert, after a long action. Mr. Dale escaped from Mill prison in February, 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 2l7 

Morris,* and Captain M'Niell, reduced the list of captains to nine, 
the number named in the reduction law, for that act does not appear 
to have been rigidly regarded from the moment of its passage. After 
the death of Commodore Barry, Commodore S. Nicholson became 
the senior officer of the service, making the second member of the 
same family who had filled that honourable station. 

1778, was retaken in London, and sent back to confinement. For an entire year he 
remained a captive, when he escaped a second time, and succeeded in reaching France. 
Here he joined the celebrated squadron fitting under Paul Jones, an officer who soon 
discovered his merit, and made him first lieutenant of his own ship, the Bon Homme 
Richard. The conduct of Mr. Dale in that capacity, is recorded in the text. After the 
cruise in the squadron ho went through the British Channel with his commander in the 
Alliance 32, and subsequently came to America with him in the Ariel 20, in 1780. Mr. 
Dale was not yet twenty -three years old, and he appears now to have first obtained the 
commission of a lieutenant in the navy from the government at home, that under which 
he had previously acted having been issued in Europe. 

Mr. Dale docs not appear to have served any more, in public vessels, during the war 
of the Revolution, but in 1794, he was commissioned as the fourth captain, in the present 
marine. Captain Dale commanded the Ganges 20, the first vessel that went to sea un- 
derthe new organisation. He continued but a short time in this ship, getting a furlough 
in 1799, to make an East India voyage. In 1801, he made the cruise in the Mediterrane- 
an which has been related in the body of this work, as commander of the squadron, and 
the following year he resigned. 

Few men passed youths more chequered with stin-ing incidents than Commodore 
Dale, and few men .spent the evening of their days more tranquilly. On quilting the 
navy, he remained in Philadelphia, in the enjoyment of a spotless name, a competency, 
and a tranquil mind, up to the hour of his death, which event occurred February 24th, 
1826, in the 69th year of his age. 

Commodore Dale had the reputation of being both a good officer and a good seaman. 
He was cool, brave, modest, and just. Notwithstanding his short service in the present 
marine, he has left behind him a character that all respected, while none envj'. 

* Richard Valentine MoitIs belonged to one of the historical families of the country, 
which has been seated a century and a half at Morrissania, in West Chester county. New 
York. He was the youngest son of Lewis Morris, of Morrissania, who was one of the 
signers of the Declaration of Independence, and he early adopted the .sea as a profession. 
Without having had an opportunity of seeing much service, the great influence and fair 
pretensions of his family, caused him to be appointed to the station of the ninth captain 
in the new navy, his commission having been dated June 7th, 1798. Captain Morris was 
probably the youngest man, among those originally named to the rank he held, but he 
acquitted himself with credit, in the command of the Adams 28, during the war with 
France. At the reduction of the navy, in 1801, Captain Morris was retained as the fifth 
in rank, and his selection to command the Mediterranean .squadron was due to his place 
on the list ; the age and state of health of the few officers above him, rendering them in- 
disposed to actual service of the nature on which he was sent. 

The fault of Commodore Morris in managing the force entrusted to him, ^vas merely 
one of judgment, for neither his zeal nwr his courage was ever questioned. Had he been 
regularly tried by a court-martial, a reprimand, in all probability, would have been the 
extent of the punishment; and it is due to his character, to add, that his dismissal from 
the navy has usually been deemed a high-handed political measure, rather than a mili- 
tary condemnation. He lived respected, and died in his original position in life, v^'hile 
attending the legislature at Albany, in 1814. He was considered a good officer, in gen- 
eral, and was a seaman of very fair pretensions. 



218 NAVAL HISTORY. [1803. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Four small cruisers built — Mediterranean squadron, under Com. Preble — Capt. Bain- 
bridge takes the Barbary cruiser, Meshboha — afterwards re-takes her prize the Celia 
of Boston — Difficulties with Morocco settled — Remarks on the appointment of Com. 
Preble — Anecdote respecting him. 

The government soon became aware of the necessity of possess- 
ing some light cruisers, which to a marine, are what the eyes and 
nerves are to men. Without vessels of this character, a commander 
could never conduct a vigorous blockade, like that required before 
Tripoli, in particular ; and a law passed February, 1803, authorising 
the construction of two brigs and two schooners. In the course of 
the spring of that year, these vessels were built, and the navy received 
an addition to its list, of the Argus IG, Siren 16, Nautilus 12, and 
Vixen 12. The two former were beautiful and very efficient brigs, 
mounting 16 twenty-four-pound carronades, and 2 long twelves ; 
and the two latter were schooners, carrying 12 eighteen-pound car- 
ronades, and 2 light long guns, each. They were all finely mod- 
elled andserviceable vessels of their size, and are intimately associated 
with the earlier traditions of the navy. There was a singular con- 
formity in their fates, also, the whole four in the end, falling into the 
hands of their enemies. 

When Commodore Morris was recalled, the necessity of sending 
out a new squadron was foreseen, the time of the crews belonging to 
the ships left under the orders of Commodore Rodgers being so 
nearly up. Indeed the latter officer, when he hoisted his broad 
pennant, was notified that a successor must necessarily soon arrive. 
The new squadron was so differently organised from the two which 
had preceded it, as to leave little doubt that the administration had 
discovered the error which had been made in sending so many light 
frigates on this service ; vessels that were nearly useless in a bom- 
bardment, while they could not command the shores, and that had 
no other quality particularly suited to the warfare in which they were 
engaged, than a fitness to convoy. For the latter employment, even, 
the same force distributed in twice the number of vessels, would have 
been much more efficient and safe. 

Tlie ships now selected to carry on the war against Tripoli, were 
of aij entirely diftcrent description. They consisted of the Constitu- 
tion 44, Philadelphia 38, Argus 16, Siren 16, Nautilus 12, Vixen 
12, and Enterprise 12. The latter was already on the station, and it 
was intended to keep her there, by sending out men to supply the 
places of those who declined to enter anew. As usual, these vessels 
sailed as they were ready ; the Nautilus 12, Lieutenant Commandant 
Somers, being the first that got to sea. This schooner reached 
Gibraltar on the 27th of .Tnly, 1803. She was soon followed by the 
Philadelphia 38, Captain Bainbridge, which anchored at the same 
place, A ugust 24th. The Constitution 44, bearing the broad pennant 



1803.] NAVAL HISTORY. 219 

of Commodore Preble, who had been chosen to command the squad- 
ron, arrived September 12th ; the Vixen 12, Lieutenant Command- 
ant Smith, September 14th ; the Siren 16, Lieutenant Command- 
ant Stewart, October 1st, and the Argus 16, Lieutenant Command- 
ant Decatur, November 1st. When the hist fell inwiththe Enterprise, 
Mr. Decatur took command of that schooner, giving up the brig, by 
arrangement, to Mr. Hull, who was his senior officer. 

The Philadelphia barely touched at Gibraltar, but hearing that 
two Tripolitans were cruising off" Cape de Gatt, Captain Baiiibridge 
proceeded, without dely, in quest of them. On the night of the 26th 
of August, blowing fresh, two sail were made from the Philadelphia, 
under Cape de Gatt ; the largest of which, a ship, was carrying noth- 
ing but a fore course. On running alongside this vessel, and hailing, 
with a good deal of difficulty. Captain Bainbridge learned that the 
stranger was a Barbary cruiser. Further examination discovered 
that this vessel belonged to the Emperor of Morocco, and that she 
was the Meshboha 22, commanded by Ibrahim Lubarez, and had a 
crew of one hundred and twenty men. 

The Moors were made to believe that the Philadelphia was an 
English frigate, and they admitted that the brig in company was an 
American. The suspicions of Captain Bainbridge were now awak- 
ened, for he could not well account for the brig being under so little 
sail, and he sent Mr. Cox, his first lieutenant, on board the Moor, to 
ascertain if there were any prisoners in his ship. When the boat, 
with the ordinary unarmed crew, reached the Meshboha, the Moors 
refused to let the officer come over the side. Captain Bainbridge 
now directed an armed force to go into the boat, when Mr. Cox suc- 
ceeded in executing his orders, without further opposition. 

Below deck, the boarding officer found the master and crew of the 
brig in company, which was ascertaiiied to be the Celia of Boston, 
a prize to the Meshboha. The brig had been captured near IMalaga, 
nine days before ; and there was no doubt that the IMoors were 
waiting for other vessels, Cape de Gatt being a headland commonly 
made by every thing that keeps the north shore of the Mediterranean 
aboard. 

Captain Bainbridge on receiving this intelligence, did not hesitate 
about taking possession of the Meshboha. Her people could not all 
be removed until near daylight ; and during tlie time that was occu- 
pied in transferring them to the frigate, the brig had disappeared. On 
the afternoon of the27lh, however, she was seen doubling the cape, 
coming from the eastward, and hugging the land, while she steered 
in the direction of Almeria, probably with the hope of getting to the 
westward of the ships, in order to run to Tangiers. Owing to light 
winds, it was midnight before she could be re-taken. 

It was now all important to discover on what authority this capture 
had been made. The Moorish commander, at first, stated that he 
had taken the Celia, in anticipation of a war, a serious misunder- 
standing existing between the Emperor and the American consul, 
wlien he left port. This story seemed so improbable that it was not 
believed, and Captain Bainbridge could only get at the truth by 



220 NAVAL HISTORY. [1803. 

threatening to execute his prisoiier as a pirate, unless he sliowed liis 
commission. This menace prevailed, and Ibrahim Lubarez pre- 
sented an oi'der from the Governor of Tangiers, to capture all Amer- 
icans that he might fall in with. 

The Philadelphia returned to Gibraltar with her prizes, and leav- 
ing the latter, she went off Cape St. Vincent, in quest of a Moorish 
frigate that was said to be cruising there. Not succeeding in finding 
the Moor, Captain Bainbridge ran through the straits again, and 
went aloft. AVhile at Gibraltar, IMr. David Porter joined him as first 
lieutenant.* 

Shortly after the Philadelphia had gone to her station off Tripoli, 
the New York 136, Commodore Rodgers, and the John Adams 28, 
Captain Campbell, reached Gibraltar, in the expectation of meeting 
the new flag-ship. In a day or two the Constitution came in, as did 
the Nautilus, which had been giving convoy up the Mediterranean. 
As soon as Commodore Preble was ajjprised of the facts connected 
with the capture of the Meshboha, he saw the necessity of disposing 
of the question with Morocco, before he left the entrance of the Med- 
iterranean again open, by going oft" Tripoli. Commodore Rodgers 
was the senior officer, and his authority in those seas had properly 
ceased, but, in the handsomest manner, he consented to accom])auy 
CommodoHi Preble to Tangiers, leaving the latter his power to act, 
as negotiator and commander-in-chief. Accordingly the Constitution 
44, New York 36, John Adams 28, and Nautilus 12, went into the 
Bay of Tangiers, October the 6th, 1803. Commodore Preble, on 
this occasion, discovered that promptitude, spirit and discretion, 
which were afterwards so conspicuous in his character ; and after a 
short negotiation, the relations of the two coimtries were placed on 
their former amicable footing. The commodore had an interview 
with the Emperor, which terminated in the happiest results. On the 
part of Morocco, the act oftiie Governor of Tangiei's was disavowed; 
an American vessel that had been detained at Mogadore, was 
released ; and the Emperor affixed his seal anew to the treaty of 
1786. The commodore then gave up the Meshboha, and it was also 
agreed to return the Meshouda, the ship taken by the Jobn Adams. 
Congress, in the end, however, appropriated an equivalent to the 
captors of those two vessels, in lieu of prize-money. 

As soon as the difficulties with Morocco were settled, Commodore 
Rodgers sailed for America; and Commodore Preble devoted him- 
self with energy and prudence in making his preparations to bring 
Tripoli to terms. The latter had an arduous task before him; and 
its difficulties were increased by the circumstance that he was per- 
sonally known to scarcely an officer under his command. During 
the war with France, the ships had been jirincipally officered from 
the states in which they had been built, and Captain Preljle, a citizen 
of New Hampshire, had hitherto conmianded vessels under these 
circumstances. He had sailed for the East Indies in 1800, in the 
Essex 32, and had been much removed from the rest of the navy, in 

* While the ship lay at Gibraltar, three broarl pennants were flyina: on boai'd thf^m, 
that of Commodore Preble, that of Conniiodorc Morris, and that of Commodore Rodgers, 



1S03.] NAVAL HISTORY. 221 

the course of his service. By one of those accidents that so often in- 
fluence the affairs of hfe, all the commanders placed under the orders 
of Commodore Preble, with the exception of Mr. Hull, came from 
the middle or the southern states; and it is believed that most of them 
had never even seen their present commander, until they went in 
person to report themselves and their vessels. This was not only 
true of the commanders, but a large portion of the subordinate officers, 
also, were in the same situation ; even most of those in the Consti- 
tution herself, having been personally strangers to the commander 
of the squadron.* The period was now approaching when the force 
about to be employed before Tripoli, was to assemble, and a service 
was in perspective that promised to let the whole squadron into the 
secret of its commander's charactei*. Previously to relating the 
events that then occurred, hoAvever, it will be necessary to return to 
the movements of the Philadelphia 38, Captain Bainbridge. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



Blockade of Tripoli resumed — Loss of tlie Philadelphia on a reef— Captain Bainbridge 
and all his crew made prisoners — List of the officers' names — Humane conduct of Mr. 
Nissen, the Danish consul — The Philadelphia is got off by the enemy — her guns and 
anchors weighed — Capture of the ketch Mastico, by Lieut. Comdt. Dccauir — His 
unsuccessful attempt to destroy the Philadelphia — His second attempt — Mr. Charles 
Morris is the first on her deck — She is recaptured and burnt — Lieut. Comdt. Decatur 
ia raised to the rank of Captain. 

It has been seen that the Philadelphia captured the Meshboha, on 
the night of the 26th of August, 1803. The return to Gibraltar, the 
run ofl' Cape Vincent, and the passage up the Mediterranean brought 
it late in the season, before that ship could reach her station. Here 
the Vixen 12, Lieutenant Commandant Smith, which schooner had 
arrived at Gibraltar about the middle of September, appeared also, 

* Comniodore Preble was a man of high temper, and a rigid disciplinarian. At first 
he was disliked in his own ship ; the younger officers in particular, feeling the effect of 
bis discipline without having yet learned'to respect the high professional qualities for 
which be afterwards became so distinguished. One night while the Constitution was 
near the Straits of Gibraltar, .she suddenly found herself alongside a large ship. Some 
hailing passed, without either party's giving an answer. Commodore Preble now bailed 
himself, saying, " I now bail you for the last time ; if you do not answer, I'll fire a shot 
into you!" "If you fire, I'll return a broad.side," was the reply. "I should like to 
catch you at that ! I now hail for an answer— what ship is that?" " This is H. B. M. 
S. Donegal 84, Sir Rich.ird Strachan, an English commodore. Send a boat on board." 
To which Preble answered, " This is the U. S. S. Constitution 44, Edward, Preble, an 
American commodore, and 1 11 be d — d if I send a boat on board any ship. Blow your 
matches, boys!" After a short pause, Preble next told the sn-anger he doubted his 
statement, and should lie by him, until morning, in order to a.?certain his real character. 
Hewas as good as hid word, but in a short time a boat came from the other vessel to ex- 
plain. It was the English frigate, Maidstone, and the Constitution had got so suddenly 
and unexpectedly alongside of her, that the hesitation about answering, and the fictitious 
name, proceeded from a desire to gain time, in order to clear the ship, and to get to 
quarters. The spirit of Commodore Preble on this occaion, produced a very favourable 
impression in bis own ship : the young men pithily remarking, that if be was wrong in 
his temper, lie was right in bis heart. 



222 NAVAL HISTORY. [1803. 

and the blockade was resumed by these two vessels, the Enterprise 
having gone below. Unfortunately, soon after his arrival. Captain 
Bainbridge sent the schooner in quest of a Tripolitan cruiser, that he 
learned from the master of a neutral had got to sea a short time pre- 
viously. This left the frigate alone, to perform a very delicate ser- 
vice, the blockading vessels being constantly compelled to chase 
in-shore. 

Towards the last of the month of October, the wind, which had 
been strong from the westward, for some time previously, drove the 
Philadelphia a considerable distance to the eastward of the town, 
and on Monday, October the 31st, as she was running down to her 
station again, with a fair breeze, about nine in the morning, a vessel 
was seen in-shore and to windward, standing for Tripoli. Sail was 
made to cut her off". Believing himself to be within long gun-shot a 
little before eleven, and seeing no other chance of overtaking the 
stranger in the short distance that remained, Captain Bainbridge 
opened a fire, in the hope of cutting something away. For near an 
hour longer, the chase and the fire were continued; the lead, which 
was constantly kept going, giving from seven to ten fathoms, and u. ~ 
ship hauling up and keeping away, as the water shoaled or deepened. 
At half past eleven, Tripoli then being in plain sight, distant a little 
more than a league, satisfied that he could neither overtake the chase, 
nor force her ashore. Captain Bainbridge ordered the helm a-port, to 
haul directly oft' the land into deep water. The next cast of the 
lead, when this order was executed, gave but eight fathoms, and this 
was immediately followed by casts that gave seven, and six and a 
half. At this momment, the wind was nearly abeam, and the ship 
had eight knots way on her. When the cry of " half-six" was heard, 
the heahn was put hard down, and the yards were ordered to be 
braced sharp up. While the ship was coming up fast to the wind, 
and before she had lost any of her way, she struck a reef forwards, 
and shot up on it, until she lifted between five and six feet. 

This was an appalling accident to occur on the coast of such an 
enemy, at that season of the year, and with no other cruiser near ! It 
was first attempted to force the vessel ahead, under the impression 
that the best water was to sea-ward; but on sounding around the ship, 
it was found that she had run up with such force, as to lie nearly 
cradled on the rocks, there being only 14 feet of water under the 
fore chains, while the ship drew, before striking, 18J feet forward. 
Astern there were not 18 feet of water, instead of 20^-, which the 
frigate needed. Such an accident could only have occurred by the 
vessel's hitting the reef at a spot where it sloped gradually, and where, 
most probably the constant washing of the element, had rendered the 
surftice smooth; and by her going up, on the top of one of those 
long, heavy, but nearly imperceptible swells, that are always agi- 
tating the bosom of the ocean. 

The vessel of whicli the Philadelphia had been in chase was a large 
xebeck, and her commander, acquainted with the coast, stood on, 
inside of the reef, doubled the edge of the shoal, and reached Tripoli 
in safety. The firing, however, had brought out nine gun-boats, 



1803.] NAVAL HISTORY. 223 



which now appeared, turning- to windward. Not a moment was to 
be lost, as it would shortly be in the power of these vessels to assail 
the frigate, almost with impunity. Finding, on further examination, 
deep water astern, the yards were next braced aback, and the guns 
were run aft, in the equally vain hope of forcing the ship astern, or to 
make her slide ofl'the sloping rocks on which she had run so hard. 
It was some time, before this project was abandoned, as it was the 
most ])rncticable means of getting afloat. 

On a consultation with his officers. Captain Bainbridge next gave i 
orders to throw overboard the guns, reserving a few aft, for defence; 
the anchors, with the exception of the larboard bower, were cut from 
the bows. Before this could be effected the enemy came within gun- 
shot, and opened his fire. Fortunately, the Tripolitans were igno 
rant of the desperate condition of the Philadelphia, and were kept a* 
a respectful distance, by the Cevr guns tliat remained ; else they migh' 
have destroyed most of their crew, it being certain that the colours 
would not be struck, so long as there was any hope of getting the ship 
afloat. The cannonade, which was distant and inefficient, and the 
business of lightening the frigate went on at the same time, and oc- 
cupied several hours. 

The enemy finally became so bold, that they crossed the stern of 
the frigate, where alone they were at all exposed to her fire, and took 
a position on her starboard, or weather quarter. Here it was im- 
possible to touch them, the ship having heeled to port, in a way to 
render it impracticable to bring a single gun to bear, or, indeed, to 
use one at all, on that side. 

Captain Bainbridge now called another council of his officers, and 
it was determined to make a last eflx)rt to get the vessel ofl'. The 
water casks, in the hold, were started, and the water was pumped 
out. All the heavy articles that could be got at, were thrown over- 
board, and finally the fore-mast was cut away, bringing down with it 
the main-top-gallant-mast. Notwithstanding all this, the vessel re- 
mained as immovable as the rocks on which she lay. 

The gun-boats wei'e growing bolder every minute, others were ap- 
proaching, and night was at hand. Captain Bainbridge, after con- 
sulting again with his officers, felt it to be an imperious duty to haul 
down his flag, to save the lives of the people. Before this was done, 
however, the magazine was drowned, holes were bored in the ship's 
bottom, the pumps were choked, and every thing was performed that 
it was thought would make sure of the final loss of the vessel. About 
five o'clock the colours were lowered. 

It is a curious circumstance that this was the second instance in 
which an American vessel of war had been compelled to haul down 
her flag, since the formation of the new marine, and that in each case 
the same officer commanded. After the accotuits given in this work, 
it is unnecessary to add that on both occasions an imperious neces- 
sity produced this singular coincidence. 

The ship had no sooner struck than the gun-boats ran down along- 
side of her, and took possession. The barbarians rushed into the 
vessel and began to plunder their captives. Not only were the 



224 NAVAL HISTORY. [1803. 

clothes wliich the Americans had collected in their bags and in bun- 
dles, taken from them, but many officers and men were stripped half 
naked. They were hurried into boats, and sent to Tripoli, and 
even on the passage the business of plundering went on. The 
officers were respected little more than the common men, and, while 
in the boat, Captain Bainbridge himself, was robbed of his epaulets, 
gloves, watch, and money. His cravat was even torn from his neck. 
He wore a miniature of his wife, and of this the Tripolitans endeav- 
oured to deprive him also, but, a youthful and attached husband, he 
resisted so seriously that the attempt was relinquished. 

It was near 10 o'clock at night, when the boats reached the town. 
The prisoners were landed in a body, near the bashaw's palace, and 
they were conducted to his presence. The prince received his cap- 
tives in an audience hall, seated in a chair of state, and surrounded 
by his ministers. Here Captain Bainbridge was formally presented 
to him, as his prisoner, when the basliaw himself, directed all the 
officers to be seated. The minister of foreign affairs, Mohammed 
D'Ghies, spoke French, and through him, the bashaw held a conver- 
sation of some length with Captain Bainbridge. The latter was 
asked many questions concerning the Pliiladelphia, the force of the 
Americans in the Mediterranean, and he was civilly consoled for 
his captivity, by being reminded that it was merely the fortune of war. 

When the conversation had ended, the officers were conducted to 
another apartment, where a supper had been provided, and as soon 
as this meal had been taken by those who had the hearts to eat, they 
were lead back to tlie audience hall, and paid their partinw- compli- 
ments to the bashaw. Here the captives were informed that they 
were put under the special charge of Sidi Mohammed D'Ghies, who 
conducted them to the house that had lately been the American 
consulate. The building was spacious and commodious,J)ut almost 
destitute of furniture. It was one o'clock in the mornin^^Vit at that 
late hour even, appeared Mr. Nissen, the Danish con"sul,l)ringing 
with him the consolations of sympathy and hope. TJiis benevolent 
man, was introduced to Captain Bainbridge, by Mohammed D'Ghies, 
as his personal friend, and as one on whose honour, hil^nanity and 
good faitli, full reliance might be placed. Moliamme'd' D'Ghies, 
himself, was known by reputation to Captain Bainbridge, and he 
had shown delicacy and feeling in the exercise of his trust. His 
recommendation, which was pointedly significant, coupled with the 
manner of Mr. Nissen, excited a confidence that in the end proved to 
be most worthily bestowed. Every thing that could be devised at 
that unseasonable hour, was done by Mr. Nissen. Tliis was but the 
commencement of a series of indefatigable and unwearying kindness 
that endured to the last moment of the captivity of the Americans. 

The misfortunes that befell the Philadelphia, made a material dif- 
ference in the state of the war. Until this moment, the bashaw had 
received but little to compensate him for the inconvenience to which 
he was put by the blockade, and for the loss of his different cruisers. 
His corsairs had captured but very few merchant vessels, and they 
ran the greatest risks, whenever they appeared out of their own ports. 



1803.] NAVAL HISTORY. 225 

As yet, it is true, nothing had been attempted against his town, but 
he knew it was at any time hable to a bombardment. It was tliought, 
therefore, that he was not indisposed to peace when accident threw 
the crew of the Philadelphia so unexpectedly into his power. 

The bashaw, however, had now a hold upon his enemy, that, 
agreeably to the usages of Barbary, enabled him to take much higher 
ground in proposing his terms. In his previous negotiations, he had 
asked a large sum as the price of the few captives he then held, but 
the demand had been rejected as unreasonable and exorbitant. On 
board the Philadelphia were three hundred and fifteen souls, and 
among them were no less than twenty-two quarter-deck officers,* 
gentlemen in whose fortunes the bashaw well knew there would be a 
lively interest felt, to say nothing of the concern that a government 
like that of America was expected to manifest for the fate of its sea- 
men. Under these circumstances, therefore, the divan of Tripoli 
felt strongly encouraged to continue tiie war, in the hope of receiving 
a high ransom for the prisoners, and in the expectation of holding a 
check on the measures of its enemy, by its means of retaliation. 

The Philadelphia ran on a reef on the 31st of Octobei', and her 
people were landed during the night of the same day. The Tripoli- 
tans set about their arrangements to get the ship off, next morning, 
and as they were near their own port, had so many gun-boats and 
galleys at their disposal, and were unmolested by any cruiser, it was 
announced to the bashaw that there kvere hopes of saving the frigate. 
In the course of the 2d of November, it came on to blow fresh fioin 
the northwest, and the wind forcing the water up on the African coast, 
while it bore on the larboard quarter of the ship, her stern was driven 
round, and she floated, in part, though she continued to thump, as 
the seas left her. Anchors were now carried out, all the disposable 
force of the town was applied, and on the 5th November, the Phila- 
delphia was got into deep water. The same day, she was brought 
witliin two miles of the city, where she was compelled to anchor, on 
account of the state of the weather. Here she was kept afloat by 
means of pumping, while men were'employed in stopping the leaks. 
The business of scuttlijig appears ta have been but imperfectly per- 
formed, a few holes ha-ving been merely bored in the bottom of the 
ship, instead of cutting through the planks, as had been ordered. 
The weather continuing remarkably fine, \the Turks finally suc- 
ceeded in not only getting the frigate into poi;^, btit in weighing all 
her guns and anchors, which lay in shallow water on the reef, as well 
as in getting up nearly every thing else that li,ad been throwji over- 
board. The ship was partially repaired, her guns were remounted, 

* ^Villiam Bainbridge, Captain; David Porter, first lientenant; Jacob Jones, second 
do. ; Tlieodore Hunt, third do. ; Benjamin Smith, fourth do. ; William Osborn, lieutenant 
of marines ; John Ridgely, surgeon ; J. Cowdery, do. mate ; Nicholas Harwood, do. do. ; 
Keith Spence, purser; and Barnard Henry, James Gibbon, Benjamin Franklin Reed, 
James Renshaw, Wallace Wonnley, Robert Gamble, James Biddle, Richard R. Jones, 
Daniel T. Patterson, Simon Smith, and William Cuibush, midshipmen; William An- 
derson, captain's clerk. Of these gentlemen, Messrs. J. Jones, Renshaw, and Biddle. 
are still in service, and have all worn broad pennants. Dr. Cowdery is the oldest sur 
geon now in the navy. 

VOL. I. 15 



226 NAVAL HISTORY. [1803. 

and slie was moored off the town, about a quarter of a mile from the 
bashaw's castle. 

Leaving Captain Bainbridge, and his fellow-sufferers, to endure 
the privations and hardships of a captivity in Barbary, it is now 
necessary to return to the other vessels of the American squadron, to 
do which we must go back a few days in the order of time. 

Commodore Preble, on his return from Tangiers to Gibraltar, on 
the loth of October, went round to Cadiz ; soon after, he re-appeared 
at the former place, made a fojgmal announcement of the blockade 
of Tripoli, on the 12th of November, on which day the ship he be- 
lieved to be in the active execution of that duty, was in the possession 
of the enemy, and on the 18th he sailed for Algiers. After landino- 
a consul at the latter place, he proceeded to Maha, off which port he 
arrived on the 27th of November. Here he was met by letters from 
Captain Bainbridge, and he obtained a confirmation of the loss of 
the Philadelphia, a rumour of which event had reached him lower 
down the coast. The Constitution sailed immediately for Syracuse, 
and got in next day. 

On the 17th of December, 1803, Commodore Preble, after making 
his preparations and disposing of his force in different ways, sailed 
for Tripoli, with the Enterprise in company, off which place he now 
appeared for the firsttime. The 23d of the month, the Enterprise 12, 
Lieutenant CommandantDeeatur, fell in with and captured a ketch, 
called the Mastico, with seventy souls on board. The Mastico had 
been a French gun-vessel in Egypt, that had been taken by the 
English and had passed into the hands of the Tripolitans. She was 
now bound to Constantinople, witli a present of female slaves for the 
Porte. A tew days after this prize vvas taken, it came on to blow 
heavily from the northeast, and finding the frigate in danger of being 
Tost on the coast, at that tempestuous season. Commodore Preble 
returned to Syracuse; not, however, nntil he had reconnoitered his 
enemy, and formed his plan of operations for the future. Means had 
been found to communicate with Captain Bainbridge, also, and 
several letters were received from that officer, pointing out diffei'ent 
methods of annoying the enemy. 

In a letter of the date of the 5th of December, 1803, Captain Bain 
bridge suggested the possibility of destroying the Philadelphia, which 
ship was slowly fitting for sea, there being little doubt of her being 
sent out as a cruiser, as soon as the mild season should return. Com- 
modore Preble listened to the suggestion, and being much in the 
society of the commander of the vessel that was most in company 
with the Constitution, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, he mentioned 
the project to that spirited officer. The expedition was just suited 
to the ardour and temperament of Mr. Decatur, and the possession 
of the Mastico at once afforded the means of carrying it into effect. 
The ketch was accordingly appraised, named the Intrepid, and taken 
into the service, as a tender. About this time. Lieutenant Com- 
mandant Stewart, of the Siren, the officer Who was then second in 
command in the Mediterranean, and who had just arrived from below, 
offered to cut out the Philadelphia with his own brig ; but Commo- 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 227 

dore Preble was pledged to Mr. Decatur, who, at first, had proposed 
to run in with the Enterprise and carry the ship. The more experi- 
enced Preble rejected the propositions of both these ardent young 
men, substituting a plan of his own. 

Although Commodore Preble declined the proposal of Mr. Deca- 
tur to carry in the Enterprise, the projected service was assigned to 
the commander and crew of that schooner. It being necessary, how- 
ever, to leave some of her own officers and people in her, a selection 
of a few gentlemen to join in the expedition, was made from the flag- 
ship, and orders to that effect were issued accordingly. These orders 
were dated February the 3d, 1804, and they directed the different 
gentlemen named to report themselves to Lieutenant Commandant 
Decatur, of the Enterprise. As it was intended that the crew of the 
schooner should furnish the entire crew of the ketch, it was not 
thought proper to add any men to this craft. In short, the duty was 
strictly assigned to the Enterprise, so far as her complement could 
furnish the officers required. On the afternoon of the 3d, according 
to the orders they had just received, Messrs. Izard, Morris, Laws, 
Davis, and Rowe, midshipmen of the Constitution, went on board the 
schooner, and reported themselves for duty to her commander. All 
hands were now called in the Enterprise, when Lieutenant Com- 
mandant Decatur acquainted his people with the destination of the 
ketch, and asked for volunteers. Every man and boy in the schooner 
presented himself, as ready, and willing to go. Sixty-two of the 
most active men were selected, and the remainder, with a few officers, 
were left to take care of the vessel. As the orders to destroy the 
frigate, and not to attempt to bring her out, were peremptory, the 
combustibles, which had been prepared for this purpose, were imme- 
diately sent on board the Intrepid, her crew followed, and thiit 
evening the ketch sailed, under the convoy of the Siren 16, Lieuten- 
ant Commandant Stewart, who was properly the senior officer of the 
expedition, though, owing to the peculiar nature of the service, Mr. 
Decatur was permitted to conduct the more active part of the duty, 
at his own discretion. 

The party in the ketch consisted of Lieutenant Commandant De- 
catur ; Lieutenants Lawrence, Bainbridge, and Thorn; Mr. Thomas 
M'Donough,* midshipman, and Dr. Heerman, surgeon ; all of the 
Enterprise ; — Messrs. Izard, Morris, Laws, Davis, and Rowe, mid- 
shipmen, of the Constitution ; and Salvatore Catalano the pilot, with 
sixty-two petty officers and common men, making a total of seventy- 
four souls. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that the accommodations were none 
of the best, with so many persons cooped up in a vessel of between 
forty and fifty tons ; and to make the matter worse, it was soon found 
that the salted meat put on board was spoiled, and that there was 
little besides bread and water left to subsist on. The weather, how- 
ever, was pleasant, and the wind favourable, and the two vessels got 
in sight of Tripoli on the afternoon of the 9th. To prevent suspi- 

* Mr. Thomas M'Donough, afterwards so tlistinguished, had bcloncrpd to the Philadel 
phia, but escaped captivity by being left at Gibraltar in the prize Meshboha. 



228 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 



cions, the Intrepid now went ahead of the Siren ; and a little after 
dark, she had stretched in quite near to the coast, with a hreeze at 
southwest, anchoring about a mile to windward of the town. Shortly 
after, the Siren, disguised brought-to a little to seaward of her. The 
night came on dark and threatening, but it was in some respects so 
favourable to the enterprise, that Mr. Decatur was reluctant to let it 
pass without making the attempt. The pilot, however, pronounced 
it extremely hazardous to venture in among the rocks at that mo- 
moment, as he thought the sea must be breaking across the entrance, 
by which it was proposed to pass. Under the circumstances, Mr. 
Decatur, who displayed as much conduct and prudence as daring 
gallantry throughout this whole aflair, sent Mr. Morris and the pilot, 
in a boat with muffled oars, to reconnoitre. This young officer 
pulled close up to the western passage, and ascertained that the sea 
was so high that it was, in fact, Jjreaking entirely across the entrance; 
when he returned and reported that it would be hazardous to go in, 
and that to come out would be impossible. 

The report was scarcely needed, for, by this time, the wind had 
risen so high, and so much sea had got up, that in hoisting in the 
boat, it was stove, and Avhen the anchor was weighed, for it Avas 
necessary to get off the land as soon as possible, it Avas found to be 
broken. The Siren had anchored a little without the ketch, and had 
hoisted out and armed her boats, which were to cover the retreat, but 
she, too, was compelled to get vmder way, by the increasing violence 
of the wind. Several hours were employed in a vain attempt to get 
her anchor, the brig rolling gunwales-to, and a good many of her 
people, together with Lieutenant Commandant Stewart, were liurt 
by the capstan's running away with the bars. In the end, the 
weather came on so bad, and the danger of being seen as the day 
dawned was so much increased, that the anchor and cable were left, 
the latter having been cut. 

So sudden and violent was the gale, that there had been no com- 
munication between the two vessels, the Siren having no other intima- 
tion of the departure of the ketch, than by seeing her light as she 
stretched out to sea. Luckily, the wind was well to the westward, 
and both vessels got an offing before they Avere seen from Tripoli. 
Here they lay to, Avith their heads off shore, certain of being far 
enough to leeward, to be out of sight in the morning. The Avind 
began to haul to the nortlnvard, and the gale lasted six days, during 
Avhich time great fears were entertained of the ketch's foundering at 
sea, or of her being, at least, driven on the coast, the change in the 
wind having brought the vessels on a lee shore. Before the Avind 
abated, they Avere driven up into the Gulf of Sydra, Avhere they Avere 
fairlv embayed. 

On the 15ththe Aveather moderated, and the brig and ketch, Ayjiich 
Iiad kept in company, notAvithstanding the gale, endeavoJired to fetch 
in Avith the land, and in the course of the night they got so near, as 
to recoinioitre and ascertain their ])osition. Finding themselves too 
far to the eastward to effect any thing that night, they hauled off 
again, in order to escape detection. The next day, about noon, cal- 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 229 

culatingthat they were abreast of the town, and the wind and weather 
beini^, in all respects, fevourable, both vessels kept away, the ketch 
leadinj^ some distance, in order that the enemy might not suppose 
her a consort of the Siren's although the latter was so much disguised, 
as to render it impossible to recognise her. The wind was fair, but 
light, and every thing looking favourable, Mr. Decatur now seriously 
made his dispositions for the atrack. Apprehensive that they might 
have been seen, and that the enemy had possibly strengthened the 
party on board the frigate. Lieutenant Commandant Stewart sent a 
boat and eight men from the Siren, to the ketch, under the orders 
of one of his midshipmen, Mr. xinderson, which reinforcement 
increased the numbers of the intended assailants to eighty-two, all 
told. 

The orders of Lieutenant Commandant Decatur were clear and 
simple. The spar-deck was first to be carried, then the gun-deck; 
after which the following distribution of the party was made, in order 
to set fire to the ship. Mr. Decatur, with Messrs. Izard and Rowe, 
and fifteen men, was to keep possession of the upper deck. Mr. 
Lawrence, with Messrs. Laws and M'Donough and ten men, was to 
repair to the berth-deck and forward store-rooms. Mr. Bainbridge, 
with Mr. Davis and ten men, was to go into the ward-room and 
steerage ; Mr. Morris, with eight men, was to go into the cockpit 
and after store-rooms ; Mr. Thorn, with the gunner and surgeon, 
and thirteen men, was to look after the ketch ; to Mr. Izard was as- 
signed the command of the launch should she be needed, and Mr. 
Anderson, with the Siren's cutter, was to secure all boats alongside 
of the ship, and to prevent the people from swimming ashore, with 
directions, however, to board as soon as the first duty was performed. 

Fire-arms were to be used only in the last extremity, and the first 
object of every one was to clear the upper-deck and gun-deck of the 
enemy. The watch-word was " Philadelphia." These arrange- 
ments were plain and judicious. 

As the ketch drew iu with the land, the ship became visible. She 
lay not quite a mile within the entrance, riding to the wind, and 
abreast of the town. Her fore-mast, which had been cut away while 
she was on the reef, had not yet been replaced, her main and mizen- 
top-inasts were iioused, and her lower yards were on the gunwales. 
Her lower staiidiug rigging, however, was in its place, and, as was 
shortly afterwards ascertained, her guns were loaded and shotted. 
Just within her, lay two corsairs, with a few gun-boats, and a galley 
or two. 

It was a mild evening for the season, and the sea and bay were 
smooth as in summer ; as unlike as possible to the same place a few 
days previo<isly, when the two vessels had been driven from the en- 
terprise by a tempest. Perceiving that he was likely to get in too 
soon, when about five miles from the rocks, Mr. Decatur ordered 
buckets and other drags to be towed astern, in order to lessen the way 
of the ketch, without shortening sail, as the latter expedient would 
liave been seen from the port, and must have awakened suspicion. 
In the mean time the wind gradually fell, until it became so light as 



230 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

to leave the ketch but about two knot's way on lier, when the drags 
were removed. 

About 10 o'clock the Intrepid reached the eastern entrance of t!ie 
bay, or the passage between the rocks and the shoal. The wind was 
nearly east, and, as she steered directly for the frigate, it was well 
abaft the beam. There Avas a young moon, and as the bold adven- 
turers were slowly advancing into the hostile port, all around them 
was tranquil and apparently Avithout distrust. For near an hour 
they were stealing slowly along, the air gradually failing, until their 
motion became scarcely perceptible. 

Most of the officers and men of the ketch had been ordered to lie 
on the deck, where they were concealed by low bulwarks, or weath- 
er-boards, and by the different objects that belong to a vessel. As it 
is the practice of those seas, to carry many men even in the smallest 
ci'aft, the appearance often or twelve would excite no alarm, and this 
number was visible. The commanding officer, himself, stood near 
the pilot, Mr. Catalano,* who was to act as interperter. The rpiarter- 
masler at the helm, was ordered to stand directly for the frigate's 
bows, it being the intention to lay the ship aboard in that place, as 
the mode of attack which would least expose the assailants to her tire. 

The Intrepid was still at a considerable distance from the Phila- 
delphia, when the latter hailed. The pilot answered that the ketch 
belonged to Malta, and was on a trading voyage ; that she had been 
nearly wrecked, and had lost her anchors in the late gale, and that 
her commander wished to ride by the frigate during the night. Thig 
conversation lasted some time, Mr. Decatur instructing the pilot to 
tell the frigate's people with what he Avas laden, in order to amuse 
them, and the Intrepid gradually drew nearer, until there Avas every 
prospect of her running foul of the Philadelpliia, in a minute or two, 
and at the very spot contemplated. But the Avind suddenly shifted, 
and took the ketch aback. The instant the southerly puff struck 
her, her head fell off, and she got a stern-board, the ship, at the same 
moment, tending to the ncAv current of air. The effect of this unex- 
pected change Avas to bring the ketch directly under the frigate's 
broadside, at the distance of about forty yards, Avliere she lay be- 
calmed, or, if any thing, drifting slowly astern, exposed to nearly 
every one of the Philadelphia's larboard guns. 

Not the smallest suspicion appears to have been yet excited on 
board the frigate, though several of her people were looking over the 
rails, and notAvithstanding the moonlight. So completely were the 
Turks deceived, that they loAvered a boat, and sent it Avith a fast. 
Some of the ketch's men, in the mean time, had got into her boat, 
and had run a line to the frigate's fore chains. As they returned, 
they met the frigate's boat, took the fast it brought, Avhich came from 
the after part of tlie ship, and passed it into their own vessel. These 
fasts were put into the hands of the men, as they lay on the ketch's 
deck, and ihey began cautiously to breast the Intrepid alongside of 
the Philadelphia, Avithout rising. As soon as the latter got near 

*Late a sailing-master in the navy 




•^^ 






COM MOID) OM-E 



SITEFMBM BMCATIDriK., inr:s„M 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 231 

enough to the ship, the Turks discovered her anchors, and they 
sternly ordered the ketch to keep off, as she had deceived thein ; 
preparing, at the same time, to cut the fasts. All this passed in a 
moment, when the cry of " Amerikanos" was heard in the ship. 
The people of tlie Intrepid by a strong pull, brought their vessel 
alongside of the frigate, where she was secured, quick as thought. 
Up to this moment, not a whisper had betrayed the presence of the 
men concealed. The instructions had been positive to keep quiet 
until commanded to show themselves, and no precipitation, even in 
that trying moment, deranged the })!an. 

Lieutenant Commandant Decatur was standing ready for a spring, 
with Messrs. Laws and Morris quite near him. As soon as close 
enough, he junqied at the frigate's chain-plates, and while clinging 
to the ship himself, he gave the order to board. The two midship- 
men were at his side, and all the officers and men of the Litrepid 
arose and followed. The three gentlemen named were in the chains 
together, and Lieutenant Commandant Decatur and Mr. Morris 
sprang at the rail above them, while Mr. Laws dashed at a port. 
To the latter would have belonged the honour of having been first in 
this gallant assault, but wearing a boarding-belt, his pistols were 
caught between the gun and the side of the port. Mr. Decatur's 
foot slipped in springing, and Mr. Charles Morris first stood upon 
the quarter-deck of the Philadelphia. In an instant, Lieutenant 
Commandant Decatur and Mr. Laws were at his side, while heads 
and bodies appeared coming over the rail, and through the ports in 
all directions. 

The surprise appears to have been as perfect, as the assault was 
rapid and earnest. Most of tlie Turks on deck crowded forward, and 
all ran over to the starboard-side, as their enemies poured in on the 
larboard. A few were aft, but as soon as charged, they leaped into 
the sea. Indeed, the constant plunges into the water, gave the assail- 
ants the assurance that their enemies were fast lessening in numbers 
by flight. It took but a minute or two to clear the spar-deck, though 
there was more of a struggle below. Still, so admirably managed 
was the attack, and so complete the surprise, that the resistance was 
but trifling. In less than ten minutes Mr. Decatur was on the quar- 
ter-deck again, in undisturbed possession of his prize. 

There can be no doubt that this gallant officer now felt bitter 
regrets, that it was not in his power to bring away the ship he had so 
nobly recovered. Not only were his orders on this point peremptory, 
however, but the frigate had not a sail bent, nor a yard crossed, and 
she wanted her foremast. It was next to impossible, therefore, to 
remove her, and the command was given to pass up the combusti- 
bles from the ketch. 

The duty of setting fire to the prize, appears to have been exe- 
cuted with as much promptitude and order, as every other part of 
the service. The officers distributed themselves, agreeably to the 
previous instructions, and the men soon appeared with the necessary 
means. Each party acted by itself, and as it got ready. So rapid 
were they all in their movements, that the men with combustibles had 



232 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

scarcely time to get as low as the cock-pit and after-store-rooms, 
before the fires were lighted over their heads. When the officer en- 
trusted with the duty last mentioned, had got through, he found the 
after-hatches filled with smoke, from the fire in the ward-room and 
steerage, and he was obliged to make his escape by the forward ladders. 

The Americans were in the ship from twenty to twenty-five min- 
utes, and they were literally driven out of her by the flames. The 
vessel had got to be so dry in that low latitude, that she burnt like 
pine ; and the combustibles had been as judiciously prepared, as 
they wei'e steadily used. The last party up, were the people who 
had been in the store-rooms, and when they reached the deck, they 
found most of their companions already in the Intrepid. Joining 
them, and ascertaining that all was ready, the order was given to 
cast off. Notwithstanding the daring character of the enterprise in 
general, Mr. Decatur and his party now ran the greatest risk they 
had incurred that night. So fierce had the conflagration already 
become, that the flames began to pour out of the ports, and the head- 
fast having been cast off, the ketch fell astern, with her jigger flapping 
against the quarter-gallery, and her boom foul. The fire showed 
itself in the window, at this critical moment ; and beneath, was all 
the ammunition of the party, covered with a tarpaulin. To increase 
the risk, the stern-fast was jammed. By using sAvords, however, 
for there was not time to look for an axe, tbe hawser was cut, and the 
Intrepid was extricated from the most imminent danger, by a vigor- 
ous shove. As she swung clear of the frigate, the flames reached the 
rigging, up which they went hissing, like a rocket, the tar having 
oozed from the ropes, which had been saturated with that inflamma- 
ble matter. Matches could not have kindled with greater quickness. 

The sweeps were now manned. Up to this moment, every thing 
had been done earnestly, though without noise, but as soon as they 
felt that they had got command of their ketch again, and by two or 
three vigorous strokes had sent her away from the frigate, the 
people of the Intrepid ceased rowing, and as one man, they gave 
three cheers for victory. This appeared to arouse the Turks from 
their stupor, for the cry had hardly ended, when the batteries, the 
two corsairs, and the galley, poured in their fire. The men lay hold 
of the sweeps again, of which the Intrepid'had eight of aside, and 
favoured by a light air, they went rapidly down the harbour. 

The spectacle that followed, is described as having been both 
beautiful and sublime. The entire bay Avas illuminated by the con- 
flagration, the roar of cannon Avas constant, and Tripoli Avas in a 
clamour. The appearance of the ship Avas, in the highest degree, 
magnificent ; and to add to the effect, as her guns heated, they began 
to go ofl". Owing to the shift of wind, and the position into Avhich 
she had tended, she, in some measure, returned the enemy's fire, as 
one of her broadsides Avas discharged in the direction of the town, 
and the other tOAvards Fort English. The most singular effect of 
this conflagration Avas on board the ship, for the flames having run up 
the rigging and masts, collected under the tops, and fell over, giving 
the whole the appearance of gloAving columns and fiery capitals. 



3804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 233 

Under ordinary circumstances, the situation of the ketch would 
still have been thought sufficiently perilous, but after the exploit they 
had just performed, her people, elated with success, regarded all 
that was now passing, as a triumphant spectacle. The shot con- 
stantly cast the spray around them, or were whistling over their heads, 
but the only sensation they produced, was by calling attention to the 
brilliant jets d^eau that they occasioned as they bounded along the 
water. But one struck the Intrepid, although she was within half a 
mile of many of the heaviest guns for some time, and that passed 
through her top-gallant sail. 

With sixteen sweeps, and eighty men elated with success, Mr. 
Decatur was enabled to drive the little Intrepid ahead with a velocity 
that rendered towing useless. Near the harbour's mouth, he met the 
Siren's boats, sent to cover his retreat, but their services were scarcely 
necessary. As soon as the ketch was out of danger, he got into one, 
and pulled aboard the brig, to report to Lieutenant Commandant 
Stewart, the result of his undertaking. 

The Siren had got into the offing some time after the Intrepid, 
agreeably to arrangements, and anchored about three miles from the 
rocks. Here she hoisted out the launch and a cutter, manned and 
armed them, and sent them in, under Mr. Caldwell, her first lieuten- 
ant. Soon after the brig weighed, and the wind having entirely 
failed outside, she swept into eight fathoms water, and anchored 
again, to cover the retreat, shoukl the enemy attempt to board the 
Intrepid, with his gun-boats. It will readily be supposed that it was 
an anxious moment, and as the moon rose, all eyes were on the 
frigate. After waiting in intense expectation near an hour, a rocket 
went up from the Philadelphia. It was the signal of possession, and 
Mr. Stewart ran billow to get another for the answer. He was gone 
only a moment, but when he returned, the fire was seen shining 
through the frigate's ports, and in a few more minutes, the flames 
were rushing up her rigging, as if a train had been touched. Then 
followed the cannonade, and the dashing of sweeps, with the ap- 
proach of the ketch. Presently a boat was seen coming alongside, 
and a man, in a sailor's jacket, sprang over the gangway of the brig. 
It was Decatur, himself, to announce his victory ! 

The ketch and brig lay near each other, for about an hour, when 
a strong and favourable wind arose, and they made sail for Syracuse, 
which port they reached on tiie 19th. Here the party was received 
with salutes and congratulations, by the Sicilians, who were also at 
war with Tripoli, as well as by their own countrymen. 

The success of this gallant exploit laid the foundation of the name 
which Mr. Decatur subsequently acquired in the navy. The country 
applauded the feat generally ; and the commanding officer was 
raised from the station of a lieutenant to that of a captain. Most of 
the midshipmen engaged, were also promoted, and Lieutenant Com- 
mandant Decatur received a sword.* 

* Notwithstanding his merit, the propriety of making: Mr. Decatur a captain was much 
questioned. When the news reached America, his name was before the senate, under 
nomination, as the younsrest master and commander of eight, but, on receiving the intel- 
ligence of his success, it was withdrawn, and sent in for a captain's commission. 



234 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 



The Philadelphia was a frigate of the class that the English termed 
a thirty-eight, previously to the war of 1812. IJer armament con- 
sisted of 28 eighteens, on her gun-deck, and of 16 carrouades and 
chase guns, above; or of 44 guns in the whole. No correct estimate 
has probably ever been made of the number of men in her, when she 
was re-captured. Twenty were reported to have been killed, and 
one boat loaded with Turks is said to have escaped; many also 
swam ashore, or to the nearest cruisers. Some, no doubt, secreted 
themselves below, of whom the greater part must have perished in 
the ship, as the party that set fire to the after-store-rooms had diffi- 
culty in escaping from the flames. But one prisoner was made, a 
wounded Turk, who took refuge in the ketch. On the part of the 
Americans but a single man was hurt.* 

In whatever light we regard this exploit it extorts our admiration 
and praise; the boldness in the conception of the enterprise, being 
even surpassed by the perfect manner in which all its parts were 
executed. Nothing appears to have been wanting, in a military 
point of view; nothing was deranged; nothing defeated. The hour 
was well chosen, and no doubt it was a chief reason why the corsairs, 
ijun-boats, and batteries, were, in the first place, so slow in com- 
mencing their fire, and so uncertain in their aim when they did open 
on the Americans. In appreciating the daring of the attempt, we 
have only to consider what might have been the consequences had 
the assault on the frigate been repulsed. Directly under her guns, 
with a harbour filled with light cruisers, gini-boats, and galleys, and 
surrounded by forts and batteries, the inevitable destruction of all in 
the Intrepid must have followed. These were dangers that cool 
steadiness and entire self-possession, aided by perfect discipline, could 
alone avert. In the service, the enterprise has ever been regarded 
as one of its most brilliant achievements, and to this day, it is deemed 
a high honour to have been among the Intrepid's crew. The effect 
on the squadron then abroad can scarcely be appreciated, as its sea- 
men began to consider themselves invincible, if not invulnerable, and 
were ready for any service in which men could be employed. 

■" It would seem that the bottom of the Philadelphia floated to the rooks, ■whore what 
remains still lies. In 1844, the Cumberland 44, Capt. Breese, visited Tripoli, when that 
officer caused some portions of the wreck to be brought oft". A leaf-cutter made of this 
interesting: relick, has been presented to the author, by his old friend the Commander 
of the Cumberland. 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 235 



CHAPTER XXII. 

The Mediterranean si;nadron is rc-inforced — Capture of the Transfer, by the Siren, 
Lieut. Coradt. Stewart — Assistance obtained from the Two Sicilies — First bombard- 
ment of Tripoh — Attack on the enemy's gun-boats — Fierce combat and capture of 
two boats, by Lieut. Comdt. Decatur — Lieut. James Decatur, of the Nautilus, killed — 
Gallant conduct of Lieut. Trippc — he captures one of the largest gun-boats — Rally of 
the enemy — they are driven back. 

Thus opened the year 1804. Tlie great distance, however, that 
lay between the seat of war and the conntry, as well as the intre- 
quency of direct communications, prevented the government at home, 
from getting early information of what was passing in the Mediterra- 
nean. As a consequence, at the very moment when Commodore 
Preble was beginning to show that energy for which he was so re- 
markable, the department was making preparations for superseding 
him in the command, not from dissatisfaction, but, as was then be- 
lieved, from necessity. There were but three captains in the navy 
junior to Preble, and one of these was a captive in Tripoli. The loss 
of the Philadelphia had rendered it indispensable to send out another 
frigate, at least, and the administration had now begun to take so 
serious a view of the state of the relations of the countiy with all the 
Barbary powers, as to see the importance of exhibiting a force that 
should look down any further attempts on a trade, wdiich, in conse- 
quence ofthe general war that prevailed in Europe, was beginning to 
whiten the seas ofthe old world with Ainerican canvass. The Em- 
peror of 3Iorocco, who was said to be a relative of the Bashaw of 
Tripoli, was distrusted in particular, and many little occurrences had 
served to prove the interest that the former felt in the aliairs of the 
latter. 

As soon as the president was apprised of the loss of the Philadel- 
phia, therefore, orders had been given to prepare the required addi- 
tional force. So little, however, had the real government of the 
country attended to this all-important branch of public defence, that 
it was far easier to command the equipment of a single frigate, than 
to get her to sea, within a reasonable time. In 1804, the mercantile 
tonnage of the United States was actually about 1,000,000 tons, and 
yet the country did not possess a single dock, public or private, be- 
tween Maine and Georgia. The unmeaning clamour against all 
improvements of this nature, which had commenced with tlie exist- 
ence of the new administration, was still continued, and, as is too 
often witnessed in the indiscriminate and unprincipled strife of parties, 
they who professed to be the warmest advocates of an active and 
growing marine, were the loudest in declaiming against those very 
measures, without which no navy can ever be efficient, or even 
moderately useful. In the actual state ofthe public mind, the direct 
method of procuring those indispensable requisites of a marine, dock- 
yards, were not attempted, but very insufficient substitutes had been 
obtained 1)y putting a liberal construction on tbe law authorising the 
building of the six seventy-fours, for which purpose building yards 



236 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

were thought to be necessary. In this manner, as many navy yards, 
as they were called, for neither had a dock, were purchased, and an 
humble commencement of" these indispensable establishments was 
made at Gosport, Washington, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Charlestown, 
and Portsmouth, N. H. Thus, in the great interests connected with 
a navy, as in every thing else in a country that is so eminently prac- 
tical, and in which few have sufficient leisure to cultivate theories, 
the facts were still leading opinion, and the gallant men who were 
slowly fighting themselves into favour, were merely performing an 
office that would seem to be inseparable from the advancement of 
every free people in civilisation. 

The ships that it was now decided to send into the Mediterranean, 
were the President 44, Congress 38, Constellation 38, and Essex 32. 
They were put in commission early in the season, and as soon as 
the choice was made, Commodore Preble was apprised of it, and of 
the necessity that existed of sending out two officers who were his 
seniors in rank. About the same time, Mr. Decatur was made a 
captain, for the destruction of the Philadelphia, and the service re- 
ceived an important impulse in the revival of the rank of masters and 
commanders, which, it will be remembered, had been dropped alto- 
gether, under the reduction law of 1801. At the time the Phila- 
delphia was retaken and burnt, there were six lieutenants in the 
Mediterranean acting as lieutenants-commandant, Messrs. Stewart, 
Hull, Smith, Somers, Decatur, and Dent, and of these, four were 
senior to the one just promoted. As Lieutenant Commandant Stew- 
art was the second in command in the Mediterranean, as well as the 
oldest lieutenant of the service, and as he had actually accompanied 
the expedition in person, aiding with his counsel, and ready to act 
on an emergency, it was thought that something more ought to have 
been done for the gentlemen over whose heads Mr. Decatur had been 
elevated. When raised to be a captain, Mr. Decatur was the eighth, 
officer of his station in the navy, and it would have been more in 
conformity with the practices of old and well established marines, to 
have promoted all his seniors, as they were all known to be qualified, 
and several liad already distinguished themselves, even in commands. 
But it was premature to expect this systematic justice in a service so 
young, and which might still be said to be struggling for its existence, 
and the class of masters and commanders was simply re-established, 
Messrs. Charles Stewart, Isaac TInll, Andrew Sterrett, .Tohn Shaw, 
Isaac Chauncey, John Smith, Richard Somers, and George Cox, 
being the gentlemen who were first appointed to this rank after it 
had been renewed in the service. These promotions, which were 
connected with the establishment of a new rank, were dated in 
]May, 1801, although all of the gentlemen concerned, who were 
abroad, continued to serve in their old capacities, until quite near the 
close of the season.* 

' It is a fnot wonhy of being mentloiiefl, thai this rank was revived purelj^ on executive 
responsibility, ami it is bolioved totally without law. The commissions, "thoush issued 
in the nnmo of the President, were not sia^ncd by that funetionarv, nor was the .Senate 
consulted in the matter. In short, it may be questioned if one of the promotions was 
legal, tVioudi the right of the parties to command was indisputable, as the I'elative rank 
was not disturbed. 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 237 

The Siren and Intrepid returned to Syracuse, after the successful 
attempt on the Philadelphia, on the 19th of February of tliis year. 
On the 2d of March, Commodore Preble who had so divided his 
force as to keep some of the small vessels off Tripoli blockading, 
proceeded to Malta, and on his return, he sailed again, on the 21st, 
for the station ofl'the enemy's port. The Siren IG, Lieutenant Com- 
mandant Stewart, and Nautilus 12, Lieutenant Commandant Somers, 
were the blockading vessels at this time, and, early one morning, 
while coming from the eastward to recover lost ground, a vessel with 
the appearance of a brig of war was seen lying-to in the offing. As 
soon as he made the Americans, the stranger endeavoured to beat 
back into the harbour again, out of which he had lately come, but, 
the Nautilus being sent close in to employ the gun-boats, should 
they attempt to come out, the Siren cut him ofl' from the port, and 
soon got alongside. This vessel proved to be the Transfer, a privateer 
out of Malta, with a British commission, and she had an armament 
of 16 carronades, and a crew of 80 men. When the Siren ran along- 
side, the Transfer's people were at quarters, but no resistance being 
attempted, she was captured for a violation of the blockade. Subse- 
quent information induced Commodore Preble to believe that she 
belonged, in fact, to the Bashaw of Tripoli, and that the commission 
under which she sailed was obtained by means of the Tripolitan 
consul in Malta, who was a native of that island, and for whose 
appearance on board the brig was actually waiting when taken. 

As the Transfer had been an English gun-brig, and was equipped 
for war. Commodore Preble sent her to Syracuse, where she was 
appraised, manned, and taken into the service for the time being. 
She was called the Scourge, and the command of her was given 
to Lieutenant Commandant Dent, the acting captain of the 
Constitution.* 

Remaining off Tripoli, a few days. Commodore Preble was next 
actively employed in running from port to port, in order to look into 
the affairs of the different regencies, to communicate with the cap- 
tives in Tripoli, and to make his arrangements for pursuing a war- 
fare better suited to bringing the bashaw to terms. The king of the 
Two Sicilies being at war with Tripoli, also, in furtherance of the 
latter duty, the Constitution Avent to Naples, in order to obtain some 
assistance in executing these projects. Here an order for two bomb- 
vessels and six gun-boats was obtained, Avith the necessary equip- 
ments, and Commodore Preble sailed for Messina, where the different 
craft lay. From this time until the middle of July, he was as actively 
engaged as ever, in providing for the wants of the captives, in settling 
a serious difficulty with Tunis, and in preparing for an attack on 
TripoH ; and we shall quit him, for a moment, to return to move- 
ments before that place. 

* Mr. Jefferson is said to have carried his hostility to blockades so far, as to refuse to 
Buffer the Transfer to be regularly condemned, although, after her arrival in America, 
she was sold, and the money was'pnt in the treasury. In the war of 1812, eight or ten 
years after her capture, the brig was legally condemned, and the prize-money was 
paid in 1815! 



NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 



In April, the Siren, Lieutenant Commandant Stewart; Argus, 
Lieutenant Commandant Hull ; Enterprise, Lieutenant Command- 
ant Decatur ; Vixen, Lieuteimnt Commandant Smith, and Scourge, 
Lieutenant Commandant Dent, composed the blockading force, 
when a felucca was seen stealing along shore, coming from the west- 
ward, with a view to enter the harbour in a fog. A general chase 
ensued, and the felucca took refuge behind a reef of rocks, about ten 
miles to the westward of Tripoli, where she was run upon a beach 
of sand. The Siren now made a signal for the boats to go in, in 
order to destroy the enemy. Mr. Caldwell, the first lieutenant of 
the Siren, being nearest in, went ahead with the launch and cutter 
of that brig, while the others followed as the vessels came up. As 
he approached the shore, the boat of Mr. Caldwell got on a sunken 
rock, and the enemy, who had begun to collect in force, particularly 
in cavalry, opened a sharp fire of musketry. Several of the Ameri- 
cans were killed and wounded, and perceiving that the enemy were 
both too strong and too well posted to be attacked by so feeble a force, 
Mr. Caldwell returned, directing the difterent boats, as he met them, 
to retire also. 

The Argus and schooners now obtained positions where they could 
throw their shot into the felucca, which was soon rendered unsea- 
worthy. While this was doing, the Siren ran down, opened a ravine 
in which the Turks were posted, and dislodged them by a smart dis- 
charge of grape. Afterwards, a broadside or two were thrown in 
among a strong body of cavalry, which had the effect of rendering 
them cautious in their operations on the coast. This little affair 
illustrates the nature of the ordinary warfare that was then carried 
on, the Tripolitans sending out bodies of soldiers to cover any vessel 
that was expected with supplies. On this occasion, the felucca was 
said to be loaded with salt, an article that then bore an enormous 
price in Tripoli. 

It was July the 21st, 1804, when Commodore Preble was able to 
sail from Malta, with all the force he had collected, to join the vessels 
cruising off Tripoli. The blockade had been kept up with vigour 
for some months, and the commodore felt that the season had now 
arrived for more active operations. He had with him the Constitu- 
tion, Enterprise, Nautilus, the two bomb-vessels and the six gun- 
boats. The bomb-vessels were only of thirty tons measurement, and 
carried a thirteen-inch mortar each. In scarcely any respect were 
they suited for the duty that was expected of them. The gunboats 
were little better, being shallow, unseaworthy craft, of about twenty- 
five tons burthen, in which long iron twenty-fours had been mounted. 
Each boat had one gun, and thirty-five men ; the latter, with the 
exception of a few Neapolitans, being taken from the different vessels 
of the squadron. The Tripolitan gun-boats, which have already 
been described, were altogether superior, and the duty should have 
been exactly reversed, in order to suit the qualities of the respective 
craft ; the boats of Tripoli having been built to go on the coast, while 
those possessed by the Americans were intended solely for harbour 
defence. In addition to their other bad qualities, these Neapolitan 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 239 



boats were found neitlier to sail nor to row even tolerably well. It 
was necessary to tow them, by larger vessels, the moment they got 
into rough water ; and when it blew heavily, there was always danger 
of towing them under. In addition to this force, Commodore Preble 
had obtained six long twenty-six-pounders for the upper-deck of the 
Constitution, which were mounted in the waist. 

When the American commander assembled his whole force before 
Tripoli, on the 25th of July, 1804, it consisted of the Constitution 
44, Commodore Preble; Siren IG, Lieutenant Commandant Stewart; 
Argus IG, Lieutenant Commandant Hull ; Scourge 14, Lieutenant 
Commandant Dent ; Vixen 12, Lieutenant Commandant Smith; 
Nautilus 12, Lieutenant Commandant Somers ; Enterprise 12, Lieu- 
tenant Commandant Decatur ; the two bomb-vessels, and six gun- 
boats. In some respects this Mas a well appointed force for the duty 
required, while in others it was lamentably deficient. Another 
heavy ship, in particular, was wanted, and the means for bombarding 
had all the defects that may be anticipated. The two heaviest bi-igs 
had armaments of twenty-four-pound carronades ; the other brig, 
and two of the schooners, armaments of eighteen-pound carronades ; 
while the Enterprise retained her original equipment of long sixes, 
in consequence of her ports being unsuited to the new guns. As 
the Constitution had a gun-deck battery of thirty long twenty- 
fours, with six long twenty-sixes, and some lighter long guns above, 
it follows that the Americans could bring twenty-two twenty-fours 
and six twenty-sixes to bear on the stone walls of the town, in addi- 
tion to a few light chase-guns in the small vessels, and the twelve- 
pounders of the frigate's quarter-deck and forecastle. On the whole, 
there ai)pears to have been in the squadron, twenty-eight heavy long 
guns, with about twenty lighter, that might be brought to play on the 
batteries simultaneously. Opposed to these means of offence, the 
bashaw had one hundred and fifteen guns in battery, most of them 
quite heavy, and nineteen gun-boats that, of themselves, so far as 
metal was concerned, were nearly equal to the frigate. Moored in 
the harbour were also two large galleys, two schoonei's, and a brig, 
all of which were armed and strongly manned. The American 
squadron was manned by one thousand and sixty persons, all told, 
while the bashaw had assembled a force that has been estimated as 
high as twenty -five thousand, Arabs and Turks included. The only 
advantages possessed by the assailants, in the warfare that is so soon to 
follow, were those which are dependent on spirit, discipline, and 
system. 

The vessels could not anchor until the 2Sth, when they ran in, 
with the wind at E. S. E., and came-to, by signal, about a league 
from the town. This was hardly done, however, befoi'e the wind 
came suddenly round to N. N. W., thence to N. N. E., and it began 
to blow strong, with aheavy seasettingdirectly on shore. At G P. M., 
a signal was made for the vessels to weigh, and to gain an offing. 
Fortunatel}', the wind continued to haul to the eastward, or there 
would have been great danwr of towiii"! the ofnn-boats under, while 
carrying sail to claw off the land. The gale continued to increase 



240 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

until the 31st, when it blew tremendously. The courses of the Con- 
stitution were blown away, though reefed, and it would have been 
impossible to save the bomb-vessels and gun-boats, had not the wind 
hauled so far to the southward as to give them the advantage of a 
weather shore, and of comparatively smooth water. Fortunately, 
the gale ceased the next day. 

On the third of August, 1804, the squadron ran in again and got 
within a league of the town, with a pleasant breeze at the eastward. 
The enemy's gun-boats and galleys had come outside of the rocks, 
and were lying there in two divisions ; one near the eastern, and the 
other near the western entrance, or about half a mile apart. At the 
same time, it was seen that all the batteries were manned, as if an 
attack was not only expected, but invited. 

At half-past 12, the Constitution wore with her head offshore, and 
showed a signal for all vessels to come within hail. As he came up, 
each commander was ordered to prepare to attack the shipping and 
batteries. The bomb-vessels and gun-boats were immediately 
manned, and such was the high state of discipline in the squadron, 
that in one hour, every thing was ready for the contemplated service. 

On this occasion, Commodore Preble made the following distribu- 
tion of that part of his force, which was manned from the other ves- 
sels of his squadron. 

One bombard was commanded by Lieutenant Commandant Dent, 
of the Scourge. 

The other bombard by Mr. Robinson, first lieutenant of the Con- 
stitution. 

First Division of gun-boats. 
No. 1. Lieut. Com. Somers, of the Nautilus. 
" 2. Lieut. James Decatur, of the Nautilus. 
" 3. Lieut. Blake, of the Argus. 

Second division of gun-boats. 
No. 4. Lieut. Com. Decatur, of the Enterprise. 
" 5. Lieut. Bainbridge, of the Enterprise. 
" 6. Lieut. Trippe, of the Vixen. 

At half past one, the Constitution wore again, and stood towards 
the town. At two, the gun-boats were cast off, and fdrmed in ad- 
vance, covered by the brigs and schooners, and half an hour later, 
the signal was shown to engage. The attack was commenced by 
the two bombards, which began to throw shells into the town. It 
was followed by the batteries, which were instantly in a blaze, and 
then the shipping on both sides opened their fire, within reach of grape. 

The eastern, or most weatherly division of the enemy's gun-boats, 
nine in number, as being least supported, was the aim of the Ameri- 
can gun-boats. But the bad qualities of the latter craft wei-e quickly 
apparent, for, as soon as Mr. Decatur steered towards the enemy, 
with an intention to come to close quarters, the division of Mr. Som- 
ers, which was a little to leeward, found it ditficult to sustain him. 
Every eflort was made by the latter officer, to get for enough to wind- 
ward to join in the attack, but finding it impracticable, he bore up, 
and ran down alone on five of the enemy to leeward, and engaged 



1804.] NAVAL HISTOHY. 241 

them all within pistol-shot, throwing showers of grape, cannister, and 
musket-balls among them. In order to do this, as soon as near 
enougli, the sweeps were got out, and the boat was backed astern to 
prevent her from drifting in among the enemy. No. 3 was closing 
fast, but a signal of recall* being shown from the Constitution, she 
hauled out of the line to obey, and losing ground, she kept more aloof, 
firing at the boats and shipping in the harbour, while No. 2, Mr. 
James Decatur, was enabled to join the division to windward. No. 
5, Mr. Bainbridge, lost her latine-yard, while still in tow of the Siren, 
but, though unable to close, she continued advancing, keeping up a 
heavy fire, and finally touched on the rocks. 

By these changes, Lieutenant Commandant Decaturf had three 
boats that dashed forward with him, though one belonged to the 
division of Mr. Somers, viz. No. 4, No. 6, and No. 2. The officers 
in command of these three boats, went steadily on, until within the 
smoke of the enemy. Here they delivered their fire, throwing in a 
terrible discharge of grape and musket-balls, and the order was given 
to board. Up to this moment, the odds had been as three to one 
against the assailants, and it was now, if possible increased. The 
brigs and schooners could no longer assist. The Turkish boats were 
not only the heaviest and the best in every sense, but they were much 
the strongest manned. The combat now assumed a character of 
chivalrous prowess and of desperate personal efforts, that belongs to 
the middle ages, rather than to struggles of our own times. Its de- 
tails, indeed, savour more of the glow of romance, than of the sober 
severity that we are accustomed to associate with reality. 

Lieutenant Commandant Decatur took the lead. He had no 
sooner discharged his shower of musket-balls, than No. 4 was laid 
alongside the opposing boat of the enemy, and he went into her,, fol- 
lowed by Lieutenant Thorn, Mr. M'Donough, and all the Americans 
of his crew. The Tripoiitan boat was divided nearly in two parts, 
by a long open hatchway, and as the peopleof No. 4 came in on one 
side, the Turks retreated to the other, making a sort of ditch of the 
open space. This caused an instant of delay, and, perhaps, fortu- 
nately, for it permitted the assailants to act together. As soon as 
ready, Mr. Decatur charged round each end of the hatchway, and 
after a short struggle, a portion of the Turks were piked and bayo- 
neted, while the rest submitted, or leaped into the water.f 

No sooner had Mr. Decatur got possession of the boat first assailed, 
than he took her in tow, and bore down on the one next to leeward. 
Running the enemy aboard, as before, he went into him, with most 
of his officers and men. The captain of the Tripoiitan vessel was a 
large powerful man, and Mr. Decatur personally charged him with a 
pike. The weapon, however, was seized by the Turk, wrested from 

* This signal was bent on by mistake, and was abroad p moment only, but the fact that 
it was shown, was established before a Court of Inquiry, which exonerated Mr. Blake 
from censure. 

t He was Captain Decatur at the time, but the fact was not yet known in the squadron. 

t It is probable that tlie crewof thi-s boat was in a measure staggered by the close fire 
of the gun, as No. 4 approached, hercantain having received no fewer than fourteen 
musket-balls iu liis body, by that one discharge. 
VOL. I. 16 



242 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 



the hands of the assailant, and turned ag-ainst its owner. The latter 
parried a tlirust, and made a blow with his sword at the pike, w ith a 
view to cut off its head. The sword hit the iron, and broke at the 
hilt, and at the next instant the Turk niade another thrust. Noth- 
iiig was left to the gallant Decatur, but his arm, with which he so far 
averted the blow, as to receive the pike through the flesh of one breast. 
Pushing the iron from the wound, by tearing the flesh, he sprang 
within the weapon, and grappled his antagonist. The pike fell be- 
tween the two, and a short trial of strength succeeded, in which the 
Turk prevailed. As the combatants fell, however, Mr. Decatur so 
far released himself as to lie side by side with his foe on the deck. 
The Tripolitan now endeavoured to reach his poniard, while his 
hand was firmly held by that of his enemy. At this critical instant, 
when life or death depended on a moment well employed, or a mo- 
ment lost, Mr. Decatur drew a small pistol from a pocket, passed the 
arm that was free round the body of the Turk, pointed the muzzle in, 
and fired. The ball passed entirely through the body of the Mussel- 
man, and lodged in the clothes of his foe. At the same instant, 
Mr. Decatur felt the grasp that had almost smothered him relax, and 
he was liberated. He sprang up, and the Tripolitan lay dead at his 
feet. 

In such a melte it cannot be supposed that the struggle of the two 
leaders would go unnoticed. An enemy raised his sabre to cleave the 
skull of Mr. Decatur, while he was occupied by his enemy, and a 
young man of the Enterprise's crew interposed an arm to save hitti. 
The blow was intercepted, but the limb was severed to a bit of skin. 
A fresh rush was now made upon the enemy, who was overcome 
without much further resistance. 

An idea of the desperate nature of the fighting that distinguished 
this remarkable assault, may be gained from the amount of the loss. 
The two boats captured by Lieutenant Commandant Decatur, had 
about eighty men in them, of whom fifty-two are known to have been 
killed and wounded ; most of the latter very badly. As only eight 
prisoners were made who were not wounded, and many jumped over- 
board, and swam to the rocks, it is not improbable that the Turks 
suffered still more severely. Lieutenant Commandant Decatur him- 
self being wounded, he secured his second prize, and hauled off to 
rejoin the squadron ; all the rest of the enemy's division that were 
not taken, having by this time, run into the harbour, by passing 
through the openings between the rocks. 

While Lieutenant Commandant Decatur was thus employed to 
windward, his brother, Mr. James Decatur, the first lieutenant of the 
Nautilus, was nobly emulating liis example in No. 2. Reserving his 
fire like No. 4, this young officer dashed into the smoke, and was on 
the point of boarding, when he received a musket ball in his forehead. 
The boats met and rebounded ; and in the confusion of the death 
of the commanding officer of No. 2, the Turk was enabled to escape, 
under a heavy fire from the Americans. It was said, at the time, 
that the enemy liad struck before Mr. Decatur fell, though the fact 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 243 

must remain in doubt. It is, however, believed that he sustained a 
very severe loss. 

In the mean time, Mr. Trippe, in No. 6, the last of the three boats 
that were able to reach the weather division, was not idle. Reserv- 
ing his fire, like the others, he delivered it with deadly eflect, when 
closing, and went aboard of his enemy in the smoke. In this 
instance, the boats also separated by the shock of the collision, leav- 
ing Mr. Trippe, with Mr. J. D. Henley, and nine men only, on 
board the Tripolitan. Here, too, the commanders singled each other 
out, and a severe personal combat occurred, while the work of death 
was going on around them. The Turk was young, and of a large 
athletic form, and he soon compelled his slighter but more active foe 
to fight with caution. Advancing on Mr. Trippe, he would strike a 
blow and receive a thrust in return. In this manner, he gave the 
American commander no less than eight sabre wounds in the head, 
and two in the breast ; when, making a sudden rush, he struck a 
ninth blow on the head, which brought Mr. Trippe upon a knee. 
Rallying all his force in a desperate etibrt, the latter, who still retain- 
ed the short pike with which he fought, made a thrust that passed 
the weapon tlirough his gigantic adversary, and tumbled him on his 
back. As soon as the Tripolitan officer fell, the remainder of his 
people submitted. 

The boat taken by Mr. Trippe, was one of the largest belonging 
to the bashaw. The number of her men is not positively known, 
but, living and dead, thirty-six were found in her, of whom twenty- 
one were either killed or wounded. When it is remembered that but 
eleven Americans boarded her, the achievement must pass for one 
of the most gallant on record.* 

All this time the cannonade and bombardment continued without 
ceasing. Lieutenant Commandant Somers, in No. 1, sustained by 
the brigs and schooners, had forced the remainingboats to retreat, and 
this resolute officer pressed them so hard, as to be compelled to ware 
within a short distance of a battery of twelve guns, quite near the 
mole. Her destruction seemed inevitable, as the boat came slowly 
round, when a shell fell into the battery, most opportunely blew up 
the platform-, and drove the enemy out, to a man. Before the guns 
could be again used the boat had got in tow of one of the small 
vessels. 

There was a division of five boats and two galleys of the enemy, 
that had been held in reserve within the rocks, and these rallied their 
retreating countrymen, and made two effijrts to come out and inter- 
cept the Americans and their prizes, but they were kept in check by 
the fire of the frigate and small vessels. The Constitution maintained 
a very heavy fire, and silenced several of the batteries, though they 

_ * While Mr. Trippe was so hard pressed by his antagonist, a Turk aimed a blow at 
him, from behind, but just before the latter struck, Sergeant Meredith, of the marines, 
passed a_ bayonet through his body. While the prizes were hauling off, no one had 
thought, in the confusion of such a scene, of lowering the flag of the Tripolitan boat, and 
she was seen advancing with the enemy's ensign set. The Vixen gave her a broadside, 
which brought down colours, mast, ]atine-yard,"and all. Fortunately, no one was hurt. 



244 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

re-opened as soon as she had passed. Tlie bombards were covered 
with the spray of shot, but continued to throw shells to the last. 

At half past four, the wind coining round to the northward, a 
signal was made for the gun-boats and bomb-vessels to rejoin the 
small vessels, and another to take them and the prizes in tow. The 
last order was handsomely executed by the brigs and schooners, 
under cover of a blaze of fire from the frigate. A quarter of an 
hour later, the Constitution herself hauled oft", and ranout of gun-shot. 

Thus terminated tlie first serious attack that was made on the 
town and batteries of Tripoli. Its effect on the enemy, was of the 
most salutary kind ; the manner in which their gun-boats had been 
taken, by boarding, having made a lasting and deep impression. 
The superiority of the Christians in gunnery, was generally admitted 
before, but here was an instance in Avhich the Turks had been over- 
come, by inferior numbers, hand to hand, a species of conflict in 
which they had been thought particularly to excel. Perhaps no 
instance of more desperate fighting of the sort, without defensive 
armour, is to be found in the pages of history. Three gun-boats 
were sunk in the harbour, in addition to the three that were taken, 
and the loss of the Tripolitans by shot, must have been very heavy. 
About fifty shells were thrown into the town, but little damage 
appears to have been done in this way, very few of the bombs, on 
account of the imperfect materials that had been furnished, exploding. 
The batteries were a good deal damaged, but the town suffered no 
essential injury. 

On the part of the Americans, only 14 were killed and wounded in 
the affair, and all of these, with the exception of one man, belonged 
to the gun-boats. The Constitution, though under fire two hours, 
escaped much better than could have been expected. She received 
one heavy shot through her main-mast, had a quarter-deck gun 
injured,* and was a good deal cut up aloft. The enemy had calcu- 
lated his range for a more distant cannonade, and generally overshot 
the ships. By this mistake, the Constitution had her main-royal 
yard shot away. 

On the occasion of the battle of the 3d of August, the officers who 
had opportunities of particularly distinguishing themselves, were 
Lieutenants Commandant Decatur and Soiners; Lieutenants Trippe, 
Decatur, Bainbridge, and Thorn, and Messrs. M'Donough, Henley, 
Ridgely, and Miller. But the whole squadron behaved well ; and 
the Constitution was handled, under the fire of the batteries, with the 
steadiness of a ship working into a roadsted. 

' A sliot came in aft, hit the gun, and broke in several pieces. Commodore Preble 
was directly in its range, but be escaped by the shot's breaking. One of the fragments 
took off the tip of a marine's eH>ow, quite near him. 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 245 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Capt. Morris boards and carries a French privateer by surprise — Three captured gun- 
boats brought into service — Second bombardment — Gunboat, No. 8, blown up — Lieut. 
Caldwell and Mr. Kennedy among the killed — Notice of Mr. Kennedy — Arrival of the 
John Adams, Capt. Chauncey — The Bashaw is disposed to treat — his propositions 
rejected — Third bombardment, without effect — Fourth bombardment — does much 
injury to the town — Capt. Bainbridge (a prisoner in the castle) is wounded in his bed 
by the rebound of a .shot — Fifth bombardment — New disposition of the forces — The 
enemy's batteries silenced by the brisk fire of the Constitution. 

The vessels hauled off and anchored about two leagues from 
Tripoli, to repair their damages. On the morning of the 5th, the 
Argus brought-to a small French privateer that had just got out of 
the harbour, and Commodore Preble induced her commander to 
return and carry in all the badly wounded among his prisoners.* 
From the captain of this vessel, he learned that the enemy had suf- 
fered even more than had been expected in the attack of the 3d, 
particularly in and about the port. On the 7th, the privateer came 
out, bringing a letter from the French consul, stating that the 
bashaw was much more disposed to treat than previously to the late 
affair, and advising the commodore to send in a flag of truce, with 
a view to negotiate. As the castle made no signal to support this 
proposition, it was not regarded. 

Between the 3d and the 7th, the squadron was occupied in altering 
the rig of the three captured gun-boats, and in putting them in a con- 
dition for service. As soon as the latter were equipped, they were 
numbered 7, 8, and 9, and the command of them was given to Lieu- 
tenants Crane, Caldwell, and Thorn. At9 A. M., on the 7th, the light 
vessels weighed, and the bombards proceeded to take a position in a 
small bay to the westward of the town, where they were not much 
exposed to shot. At half past 2, the bombards, having gained their 
anchorage, commenced throwing shells, and the g;un-boats opened a 
heavy fire on the batteries. The effect on tlie latter was soon 
apparent, and many of their guns were rendered useless. Ih the 
height of the cannonade, a strange vessel appeared in the offing, and 
the Argus was sent in chase. The enemy now began to get his 
galleys and gun-boats in motion, and once or twice they advanced 
toward the opening between the rocks, and commenced a fire ; but 
the Constitution, Nautilus, and Enterprise, being stationed to wind- 
ward to cut them off, and the Siren and Vixen lying near the American 
gun-vessels to cover the latter, the enemy, after the lesson received on 
the 3(1, were afraid to venture. 

At half past 3, or after tlie action had lasted about an hour, a shot 
psssed through the magazine of No. 8, Lieutenant Caldwell, the boat 
taken by Mr. Trippe in the afiair of the 3d, and she immediately blew 
up. When the smoke cleared away, all the after part of the boat 

* Mr. Morris of the Argus was row^ing guard, clo.sc in, when he found himself unex- 
pectedly alongside of a strange sail. Without hesitating, he boarded and carried her by 
surprise, when she proved to be the privateer in questioa 



246 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804 

was under water, while Mr. Robert T. Spence, of the Siren, and 11 
men, were forward, loadincj the long twenty-six-pounder that formed 
her armament. This gun was loaded, and fired, and its gallant crew 
gave three cheers, as their vessel sunk beneath them. Mr. Spence, 
who could not swim, saved himself on an oar, while the rest of the 
people got on board the different boats, where they continued to fight 
during the remainder of the action. 

No. 8, when she blew up, had a crew of 28 persons in all, of whom 
10 were killed and 6 wounded. Among the former was Mr. Cald- 
well, her commander, the first lieutenant of the Siren, and Mr. 
Dorsey, a midshipman of the same vessel. These two officers 
were greatly regretted, as both bade fair to be ornaments to their 
profession.* 

At half past -5, or after the cannonade had lasted nearly three hours, 
the Constitution made a signal for the brigs and schooners to take 
the bombards and gun-boats in tow, and the squadron hauled off" for 
its anchorage again. Just at this time, the Argus made a signal that 
the sail in sight was a friend. 

The gun-boats, in this attack, suffered considerably. In conse- 
quence of the wind's being on-shore. Commodore Preble had kept the 
frigate out of the action, and the enemy's batteries had no interruption 
from the heavy fire of that ship. Several of the American boats had 
been hulled, and all suffered materially in their sails and rigging. 
No. 6, Lieutenant Wadsworth, had her latine-yard shot aAvay. The 
killed and wounded amounted to 18 men. 

At 8 o'clock in the evening, the John Adams 28, Captain Chaun- 
cey, from America, came within hail of the Constitution, and reported 
herself. By this ship, Commodore Preble received despatches in- 
forming him of the equipment of the vessels that were to come out 
under Commodore Barron, and of the necessity, which was thought 
to exist, of superseding him in the command. Captain Chauncey 
also stated the probability of the speedy arrival of the expected ships, 
which were to sail shortly after his own departure. As the John 
Adams had brought stores for the squadron, and had put most of her 
gun-carriages in the other frigates to enable her to do so, she could 
be of no immediate use ; and the i*est of the vessels being so soon 
expected. Commodore Preble was induced to delay the other attacks 
he had meditated, on the ground of prudence. 

* Mr. Edmund P. Kennedy, one of the gunner's crew belonging to the Siren, was the 
captain of the gun, on board No. 8, when she blew up. Mr. Kennedy was a young gen- 
tleman of Maryland, who had quilted school in quest of adventure, find, having been 
impressed into the British navy, on obtaining his discharge in the Mediterranean, he 
entered under the flag of his country. In consequence of his good conduct on this 
occasion, and from a desire to place him in a station better suited to his pretensions. 
Commodore Preble made Mr. Kennedy an acting midshipman. The appointment was 
confirmed at home, and the gentleman in question has since worn a broad pennant. It 
is believed that this officer ami one other, have been the only two in the navy who could 
boast of having gone through all the gradations of the service, from forward, aft. 

During the attack of tlie 7th, Lieutenant Commandant Somers was standing leaning 
against the flag-statfof No. 1, as the boat advanced to her station. He saw a shot coming 
directly in a lino with his head, and stooped to avoid it. The .shot cut the flagstaffin 
two, and, after the atl'air, Mr. Somers stood up against the stump, when it was found tliat, 
had he not been so quick in his movements, the shot would have hit his chin. 



1804.] NAVAL IIISTOIIY. 247 

By the John Adams, intelligence reached the squadron of the 
re-estahhshment of the rank of masters and commanders, and the 
new commissions were brought out to the officers before Tripoli, who 
had been promoted. In consequence of these changes. Lieutenant 
Commandant Decatur was raised to the rank of captain, and became 
the second in command then present ; while Lieutenants Command- 
ant Stewart, Hull, Chauncey, Smith, and Somers, became masters 
commandant, in the order in which they are named. Several of the 
young gentlemen were also promoted, including most of those who 
had a share in the destruction of the Philadelphia. 

The bashaw now became more disposed than ever to treat, the 
warfare promising much annoyance, with no corresponding benefits. 
The cannonading did his batteries and vessels great injuries, though 
the town probably suffered less than might have been expected, being 
in a measin-e protected by its walls. The shells, too, that had been 
procured at Messina, turned out to be very bad, few exploding when 
they fell.* The case was different with the shot, Avhich did their 
work effectually on the different batteries. Some idea maybe formed 
of the spirit of the last attack, from the report of Commodore Preble, 
wh<» stated that nine guns, one of which was used but a short time, 
threw 500 heavy shot, in the course of little more than two hours. 

Although the delay caused by the expected arrival of the reinforce- 
ment, was improved to open a negotiation, it was without effect. The 
bashaw had lowered his demands quite half, but he still insisted on a 
ransom of $500 a man for his prisoners, though he waived the usual 
claim for tribute, in futwe. These propositions were rejected, it 
being expected that, after the arrival of the reinforcement, the treaty 
might be made on the usual terms of civilised nations. 

On the 9th of August, the Argus, Captain Hull, had a narrow 
escape. That brig having stood in towards the town, to reconnoitre 
with Commodore Preble on board, one of the heaviest of the shot 
from the batteries, raked her bottom, for some distance, and cut the 
plank half through. An inch or two of variation in the direction 
of this shot, would infallibly have sunk the brig, and that probably 
in a very few minutes. 

No intelligence arriving from the expected vessels. Commodore 
Preble about the I6th, Jaegan to make his preparations for another 
attack, sending the Enterprise, Lieutenant Commandant Robinson, 
to Malta, with orders for the agent to forward transports with water, 
the vessels being on a short allowance of that great essential. On 
the night of the 17tb, Captains Decatur and Chauncey went close 
in, in boats, and reconnoitered the situation of the enemy. These 
officers, on their return, reported that the vessels of the Tripolitan 
flotilla were moored abreast of each other, in a line extending from 
the mole to the castle, with their heads to the eastward, which was 

* Arpordins: to the private journal of Captain Bainbridge, then a prisoner in the town, 
out of forty-eight shells thrown by the two bombards in the attack of the 7th, but one 
exploded. Agreeably to the records made by this officer at the time, the bombs on no 
occasion did much injury, and the town generally suffered less by shot eveu tlian was 
commonly supposed. 



248 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

making a defence directly across the inner harbour or galley-mole. 

A gale, however, compelled the American scjnadron to stand off 
shore on the morning of the 18th, which caused another delay in the 
contemplated movements. While lying to, in the offing, the vessels 
met the transports from Malta, and the Enterprise returned, bringing 
no intelligence from the expected reinforcement. 

On the 24tl), the squadron stood in towards the town again, with a 
light breeze from the eastward. At 8 P; M., the Constitution an- 
chored just out of gun-shot of the batteries, but it fell calm, and the 
boats of the different vessels were sent to tow the bombards to a po- 
sition favourable for throwing shells. This was thought to have 
been effected by 2 A. M., when the two vessels began to heave their 
bombs, covered by the gun-boats. At daylight, they all retired, 
without having received a shot in return. Commodore Preble ap- 
pears to have distrusted the result of this bombardment, the first 
attempt at night, and there is reason to think it produced but little 
effect.* 

The weather proving very fine and the wind favourable, on the 
28th, Commodore Preble determined to make a more vigorous assault 
on the town and batteries, than any which had preceded it, and his 
dispositions were taken accordingly. The gun-boats and bombards 
requiring so many men to manage them, the Constitution and the 
small vesscl-s had been compelled to go into action short of hands, in 
the previous affairs. To obviate this difficulty, the John Adams had 
been kept before the town, and a portion of her officers and crew, 
and nearly all her boats, were put in requisition, on the present 
occasion. Captain Chauncey, himself, with abcTut 70 of his people, 
went on board the flag-ship, and all the boats of the squadron were 
hoisted out and manned. The bombards were crippled and could 
not be brought into service, a circumstance that probably was of no 
great consequence, on account of the badness of the materials they 
were compelled to use.t These two vessels, with the Scourge, 
transports, and John Adams, Avere anchored well off at sea, not being 
available in the contemplated cannonading. 

Every thing being prepared, a little after midnight the following 
gun-boats proceeded to their stations, vi/ : No. 1, Captain Somers ; 
No. 2, Lieutenant Gordon ; No. 3, Mr. Brooks, master of tlie Argus ; 
No. 4, Captain Decatur; No. 5, Lieutenant Lawrence; No. 6, 
Lieutenant Wadsworth ; No. 7, Lieutenant Crane ; and No. 9, 
Lieutenant Thorn. They were divided into two divisions, as befijre, 
Captain Decatur having become the superior officer, however, by his 
recent promotion. About 3 A. M. the gun-boats advanced close to 
the rocks at the entrance of the harbour, covered by the Siren, Cap- 
tain Stewart, Argus, Captain Hull, Vixen, Captain Smith, Nautilus, 
Lieutenant Reed, and Enterprise, Lieutenant Commandant Robin- 

* Captain Baiubridgc, in his private journal, says tliat all tlie shells thrown on this 
occasion fell short. 

t It is stated that Commodore Preble subsequently discovered lead in the fuse-holes 
of many of the bombs. It was supposed tliat this had been done by treachery, by means 
of French atrcnts in Cicilv, the shells havin" been charired to resist the French invasion 



1804.] 



NAVAL HISTORY. 249 



son, and accompanied by all the boats of the squardon. Here they 
anchored, with springs on their cables, and commenced a cannonade 
on the enemy's shipping, castle, and town. As soon as the day 
dawned, tiie Constitution weighed and stood in towards the rocks, 
under a heavy fire from tlie batteries. Fort English, and the castle. 
At this time, the enemy's giin-boats and galleys, thirteen in number, 
were closely and warmly engaged with the eight American boats ; and 
the Constitution, ordering the latterto retire by signal, as their ammu- 
nition was mostly consumed, delivered a heavy fire of round and 
grape on tiie former as she came up. One of the enemy's boats was 
soon sunk, two were run ashore to prevent them from meeting a sim- 
ilar fate, and the rest retreated. 

The Constitution now continued to stand on, until she had run in 
within musket-shot of the mole, when she brought-to, and opened 
upon the town, batteries, and castle. Here she lay three (juarters of 
an hour, pouring in a fierce fire, with great effect, until finding that 
all the small vessels were out of gun-shot, she hauled oft'. About 
700 heavy shot were hove at the enemy, in this attack, besides a <rood 
many from the chase-guns of the small vessels. The enemy sus- 
tained much damage, and lost many men. The American brigs and 
schooners were a good deal injured aloft, as was the Constitution. 
Although the latter ship was so lonn' within reach of grape, many of 
which shot struck her, she had not a man hurt ! Several of her 
shrouds, back-stays, trusses, spring-stays, chains, lifts, and a great 
deal of running rigging were shot away, and yet her hull escaped 
with very trifling injuries. A boat belonging to the John Adams, 
under the orders of Mr. John Orde Creighton, one of that ship's 
master's mates, was sunk by a double-headed shot, which killed three 
men, and badly wounded a fourth, but the officer and the rest of the 
boat's crew were saved. 

In this attack a heavy shot from the American gun-boats struck 
tlie castle, passed through a wall, and rebounding from the opposite 
side of the room, fell witliin six inches of Captain Bainbridge, who 
was in bed at the moment, and covered him with stones and mortar, 
from under which he was taken, considerably hurt, by his own offi- 
cers. More injury was done to the town in this attack, thanineither 
of the others, the shot appearing to have told on many of the houses. 

From this time to the close of the month, preparations were mak- 
ing to use the bombards again, and for renewing the cannonading, 
another transport having arrived from Malta, without bringing any 
intelligence of the vessels under the orders of Commodore Barron. 
On the 3d of September, every thing being ready, at half past two 
the signal was made for the small vessels to advance. The enemy 
had improved the time as well as the Americans, and they had i-aised 
three of their own gun-boats that had been sunk in the affairs of the 
3d and of the 28th of August. These craft were now added to the 
rest of their flotilla. 

The Tripolitans had also changed their mode of fighting. Hith- 
erto, Avith the exception of the affair of the 3d, their galleys and gun- 
boats had Iain either behind the rocks, in positions to fire over them, 



250 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

or at the openings between them, and they consequently found them- 
selves to leeward of the frigate and small American cruisers, the 
latter invariably choosing easterly winds to advance with, as they 
would permit crippled vessels to retire. On the 3d of August, the 
case excepted, the Turks had been so roughly treated by being 
brought hand to hand, when they evidently expected nothing more 
than a cannonade, that they were not disposed to venture again out- 
side of the harbour. On the 3d of September, however, the day at 
which we have now arrived, their plan of defence was judiciously 
altered. No sooner was it perceived that the American squadron 
was in motion, with a fresh design to annoy them, than their gun- 
boats and galleys got underway, and worked up to windward, until 
they had gained a station on the weather side of the harbour, directly 
under the fire of Fort English, as well as of a new battery that had 
been erected a little to the westward of the latter. 

This disposition of the enemy's force, required a corresponding 
change on the part of the Americans. The bombards were directed 
to take stations and to commence throwing their shells, while the 
gun-boats, in two divisions, commanded as usual by Captains Deca- 
tur and Somers, and covered by the brigs and schoonei-s, assailed 
the enemy's flotilla. This arrangement separated the battle into two 
distinct parts, leaving the bomb vessels very much exposed to the 
fire of the castle, the mole, crown, and other batteries. 

The Tripolitan gun-boats and galleys stood the fire of the Ameri- 
can flotilla until the latter had got within reach of musketry, when 
they retreated. The assailants now separated, some of the gun- 
boats following the enemy, and pouring in their fire, while the others, 
with the brigs and schooners, cannonaded Fort English. 

In the mean while, perceiving that the bombards were suflfering 
severely from the undisturbed fire of the guns to which they were 
exposed. Commodore Preble ran down in the Constitution, quite 
near the rocks, and within the bomb vessels, and brought-to. Here 
the frigate opened as warm a fire as probably ever came out of the 
broadside of a single-decked ship, and in a position where seventy 
heavy guns could bear upon her. The whole harbour, in the vicinity 
of the town, was glittering with the spray of her shot, and each 
battery, as usual, was silenced as soon as it drew her attention. Af- 
ter throwing more than three hundred round shot, besides grape and 
cannister, the frigate hauled ofl', having previously ordered the other 
vessels to retire from action, by signal. 

The gun-boats, in this aftair, were an hour and fifteen minutes 
engaged, in which time they threw four hundred round shot, besides 
grape and cannister. Lieutenant Trippe, who had so much distin- 
guished himself, and who had received so many wounds that day 
month, resumed the command of No. 6, for this occasion. Lieuten- 
ant Morris, of the Ai-gns, was in charge of No. 3. All the small 
vessels suffered, as usual, aloft, and the Argus sustained some damage 
in her hull. 

The Constitution was so much exposed in the attack just related, 
that her escape can only be attributed to the weight of her own fire. 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 251 



It had been found, in the previous affairs, that so long as this ship 
could play upon a battery, the Turks could not be kept at its guns ; 
and it was chiefly while she was veering, or tacking, that she suffered. 
But, after making every allowance for the effect of her own cannon- 
ade, and for the imperfect gunnery of the enemy, it creates wonder 
that a single frigate could lie opposed to more than double her own 
number of available guns, and these too, principally, of heavier metal, 
while they were protected by stone walls. On this occasion, the 
frigate was not supported by the gun-boats at all, and she became 
the sole object of the enemy's aim after the bombards had withdrawn. 

As might have been expected, the Constitution sufl'ered more in 
the attack just recorded, than in any of the previous affairs, though 
she received nothing larger than grape in her hull. She had three 
shells through her canvass, one of which rendered the main-top-sail 
momentarily useless. Her sails, standing and running rigging were 
also much cut with shot. Captain Chauucey, of the John Adams, 
and a party of his officers and crew, served in the Constitution again 
on this day, and were of essential use. Indeed, in all the service 
which succeeded her arrival, the commander, officers, and crew of 
the John Adams were actively em[»loyed, though the ship herself 
could not be brought before the enemy, for the want of gun-carriages. 

The bombards, having been much exposed, suffei'ed accordingly. 
No. 1, was so much crippled, as to be unable to move, without being 
towed, and was near sinking when she was got to the anchorage. 
Every shroud she had was shot away. Commodore Preble expressed 
himself satisfied with the good conduct of every man in the squadron. 
All the vessels appear to have been well conducted, and efficient in 
their several stations. Of the effect of the shells, tliere is no account 
to be rehed on, though it is probable that, as usual, many did not ex- 
plode. There is no doubt, however, that the bombs were well 
directed, and that they fell into the town. 

While Commodore Preble was thus actively employed in carrying 
on the war against the enemy, the attack just related having been 
the fifth made on the town within a month, he was meditating another 
species of annoyance, that about this time was nearly ready to be 
put in execution. 



252 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

New species of annoyance to the enemy — The " Infernal" — Equipment of the ketch 
Intrepid— she is sent into the harbourof Tripoli — she blows np with all her crew — Prob- 
able causcsof the disaster — Private journal of Capt. Bainbridge — The President, Com. 
Barron, rejoins the squadron — The command is transferred to Com. B. — Capture 
of two sail loaded with wheat — Com. Preble returns to the United States — Capt. 
Richard Somers — sketch of his life. 

The ketch Intrepid, that had been employed by Mr. Decatur in 
burninfr the Philadelphia, was still in the squadron, having been 
used of late as a transport between Tripoli and Malta. This vessel 
had been converted into an " infernal," or, to use more intelligible 
terms, she had been fitted as a floating mine, with the intention of 
sending her into the harbour of Tripoli, to explode among the ene- 
my's cruisers. As every thing connected with the history of this 
little vessel, as well as with the enterprise in which she was now to be 
employed, will have interest with the public, we shall be more partic- 
ular than common in giving the details of this aftair, as they have 
reached us through public documents, and oral testimony that is 
deemed worthy of entire credit. 

A small room or magazine had been planked up in the hold of 
the ketch, just forward of her principal mast. Communicating with 
this magazine was a trunk or tube, that led aft, to another room 
filled with combustibles. In the planked room, or magazine, were 
placed one hundred barrels of gunpowder in bulk, and on the deck 
immediately above the powder, were laid fifty thirteen and a half 
inch shells, and one hundred nine inch shells, with a large quantity 
of shot, pieces of kentledge, and fragments of iron of different sorts. 
A train was laid in the trunk, or tube, and fuses were attached in 
the proper manner. In addition to this arrangement, the other small 
room mentioned was filled with splinters and light wood, which, 
besides firing the train, were to keep the enemy from boarding, as 
the flames would be apt to induce then to apprehend an immediate 
explosion. 

The plan was well laid. It was the intention to profit by the first 
dark night that offered, to carry the ketch as fiir as possible into the 
galley-mole, to light the fire in the splinter-room, and for the men 
employed, to make their retreat in boats. 

The arrangements for carrying this project into eflTect appear to 
have been made with care and prudence. Still the duty, on every 
account, was deemed desperate. It was necessary, in the first place, 
to stand in by the western or little passage, in a dull-sailing vessel, 
and with a light wind, directly in the face of several batteries, the fire 
of which could only be escaped by the enemy's mistakinsr the ketch 
for a vessel endeavouring to force the blockade. It would also be 
required to pass quite near these batteries, and, as the ketch ad- 
vanced, she would be running in among the gun-boats and galleys 
of the enemy. It is not necessary to point out the hazards of such an 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 253 

exploit, as a simple cannonade directed against a small vessel filled 
with powder, would of itself be, in the last degree, dangerous. After 
every thing had succeeded to the perfect hopes of the assailants, there 
existed the necessity of effecting a retreat, the service being one in 
which no quarter could be expected. 

Such a duty could be confided to none but officers and men of 
known coolness and courage, of perfect self-possession, and of tried 
spirit. Captain Somers, who had commanded one division of the 
gun-boats in the different attacks on the town that have been related, 
in a manner to excite the respect of all who witnessed his conduct, 
volunteered to take charge of this enterprise, and Lieutenant Wads- 
worth, of the Constitution, an officer of great merit, offered himself 
as the second in command. It being unnecessary to send in any more 
than these two gentlemen, with the few men needed to manage the 
ketch and row the boats, no other officer was permitted to go, tliough 
it is understood that several volunteered. 

The night of the 4th September, or that of the day which suc- 
ceeded the attack last related, promising to be obscure, and there 
being a good leading wind from the eastward, it was selected for the 
purpose. Commodore Preble appears to have viewed the result of 
this expedition with great anxiety, and to have ordered all its prepar- 
ations, with the utmost personal attention to the details. This 
feeling is believed to have been increased by his knowledge of the 
character of the officers who were to go in, and who, it was under- 
stood, had expressed a determination neither to be taken, nor to per- 
mit the ammunition in the ketch to fall into the enemy's hands. The 
latter point was one of great importance, it being understood that the 
Tripolitans, like the Americans, were getting to be in want of pow- 
der.* In short, it was the general understanding in the squadron, 
before the ketch proceeded, that her officers had determined not to 
be taken. Two fast-rowing boats, one belonging to the Constitution, 
that pulled six oars, and one belonging to the Siren, that pulled four 
oars, were chosen to bring the party off, and their crews were volun- 
teers from the Constitution and Nautilus. At the last moment, Mr. 
Israel, an ardent young officer, whose application to go in had been 
rejected, found means to get on board the ketch, and, in considera- 
tion of his gallantry, he was permitted to join the party. 

When all was ready, or about S o'clock in the evening of the day 
just mentioned, the Intrepid was underway, with the Argus, Vixen, 
and Nautilus in company. Shortly after, the Siren also weighed, 
by a special order from the commodore, and stood in towards the 
western passage, or that by which the ketch was to enter, where she 
remained to look out for the boats. 

The Nautilus, Captain Somers' own vessel, accompanied the ketch 
close in, but, on reaching a position where there was danger of her 

*A day or two before the ketch was ready, the commodore himself wastryiii^ a port- 
fire in the cabin of the Constitution, in the presence of Captain Somers, and of one or two 
other officers, and findinj» that one burned a particular time, by the watch, he remarked 
that he thought "it banied longer than was necessary, as the time might enable the ene- 
my to approach and extinguish it before the train would be fired." " I ask for no port- 
fire at all," was tlie quiet answer of Captain Somers. 



254 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

creating suspicions by being seen, she hauled off, to take her station, 
like the other small vessels, near the rocks, in order to pick up the 
retreating boats. The last person of the squadron who had any com- 
munication with Captain Somers, was Mr. Washington Reed, the 
first lieutenant of his own schooner, the Nautilus, who left him about 
9 o'clock. At that time all was calm, collected, and in order on 
board the " infernal." The general uneasiness was increased by the 
circumstance that three gun-boats lay near the entrance ; and some 
of the la.st words of the experienced Decatur, before taking leave of 
his friend, were to caution him against these enemies. 

The sea was covered with a dense haze, though the stars were visi- 
ble, and the last that may be said to have been seen of the Intrepid, 
was the shadowy forms of her canvass, as she steered slowly, but 
steadily, into the obscurity, where the eyes of the many anxious 
spectators fancied they could still trace her dim outline, most prob- 
ably after it had totally disappeared. This sinking into the gloom 
of night, was no bad image of the impenetrable mystery that has 
veiled the subsequent proceedings of the gallant party on board her. 

When the Intrepid was last seen by the naked eye, she was not 
a musket-shot from the mole, standing directly for the harbour. One 
officer on board the nearest vessel, the Nautihis, is said, however, to 
have never lost sight of her with a night-glass, but even he could 
distinguish no more than her dim proportions. There is a vague 
rumour that she touched on the rocks, but it does not appear to rest 
on sufficient authority to be entitled to absolute credit. To the last 
moment, she appears to have been advancing. About this time the 
batteries began to fire. Their shot are said to have been directed 
towards every point where an enemy might be expected, and it is not 
improbable that some were aimed against the ketch. 

The period between the time when the Intrepid was last seen, and 
that when most of those who watched without the rocks learned her 
fate, was not long. This was an interval of intense, almost of breath- 
less expectation, and it was interrupted only by the flashes and roar 
of the enemy's guns. Various reports exist of what those who gazed 
into the gloom beheld, or fancied they beheld ; but one melancholy 
fact alone w^ould seem to be beyond contradiction. A fierce and 
sudden light illuminated the panorama, a toiTent of fire streamed up- 
ward, and a concussion followed that made the cruisers in the offing 
tremble from their trucks to their keels. This sudden blaze of light 
was followed by a darkness of twofold intensity, and the guns of the 
batteries became mute, as if annihilated. Numerous shells were seen 
in the air, and some of them descended on the rocks, where they 
were heard to fall. The fuses were burning, and a few exploded, 
but much the greater part were extinguished in the water. The 
mast, too, had risen perpendicularly, with its rigging and canvass 
blazing, but the descent veiled all in night. 

So sudden and tremendous was the eruption, and so intense the 
darkness which succeeded, that it was not possible to ascertain the 
precise position of the ketch at the moment. In the glaring, but 
fleeting light, no person could say that he had noted more than the 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 255 

material circumstance, that the Intrepid had not reached the point at 
which she aimed. The shells had not spread far, and those which 
fell on the rocks were so many proofs of this important truth. There 
was no other fact to indicate the precise spot where the ketch explod- 
ed. A few cries arose from the town, hut the subsequent and deep 
silence that followed was more eloquent than any clamour. The 
whole of Tripoli was like a city of tombs. 

If every eye had been watchful previously to the explosion, every 
eye now became doubly vigilant to discover the retreating boats. . 
Men got over the sides of the vessels, holding lights, and placing 
their ears near the water, in the hope of detecting the sounds of even 
muffled oars ; and often was it fancied that the gallant adventurers 
were near. They never re-appeai-ed. Hour after hour went by, 
until hope itself became exhausted. Occasionally, a rocket gleamed 
in the darkness, or a sullen gun was heard from the frigate, as signals 
to the boats ; but the eyes that should have seen the fii'st, were sight- 
less, and the last tolled on the ears of the dead. 

The three vessels assigned to that service hovered around the har- 
bour until the sun rose, but few traces of the Intrepid, and nothing 
of her devoted crew could be discovered. The wreck of the mast 
lay on the rocks near the western entrance, and here and there a 
fragment was visible nigh it. One of the largest of the enemy's gun- 
boats was missing, and it was observed that two others, wliich ap- 
peared to be shattered, were being hauled upon the shore. The 
three that had lain across the entrance had disappeared. It was 
erroneously thought that the castle had sustained some injury from 
the concussion, though, on the whole, the Americans were left witli 
the melancholy certainty of having met with a serious loss, without 
obtaining a commensurate advantage. 

It is now known that the bottom of the ketch grounded on the north 
side of the rocks, near the round battery at the end of the mole, and 
as the wind was at the eastward, this renders it certain that the explo- 
sion took place in the western entrance to the harbour, and fully a 
quarter of a mile from the spot that it was intended the ketch should 
reach. In the wreck were found two mangled bodies, and four more 
were picked up on the 6th, floating in the harbour, or lodged on the 
shore. These bodies were in the most shocking state of mutilation, 
and, though Captain Bainbridge and one or two of his companions 
were taken to see them, it was found impossible to distinguish even 
the officers from the men. It is understood that six more bodies 
were found, the day after the explosion, on the shore to the south- 
ward of the town, and that a six-oared boat, with one body in it, had 
drifted on the beach to the westward.* 

These statements account for all those who went in the ketch, and 
furnish conjectural clues to facts that would otherwise be veiled in 
impenetrable mystery. The spot where the boat was found, was a 
proof that the ketch had not got very far into the passage, or the 
p.utter could not have drifted clear of the natural mole to the west- 

"Captain Bainbridge's private journal. 



256 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

ward. The reason that the boat and the ketch's bottom were no* 
found near the same spot, was probably because the first was acted 
on more by the wind, and the last by the current; and the fact that a 
boat may have drifted through rocks, with which the shore is every 
where more or less lined, that would have brought up the wreck. 

As there was but one body found in the boat, we are left to sup- 
pose it was that of the keeper. Of the four-oared boat, or that which 
belonged to the Siren, there does not appear to have been any tidings, 
and it was either destroyed by the explosion, sunk by the fall of 
fragments, or privately appropriated to himself by some Tripolitan. 

From the fact of there Iseing but a single man in the Constitution's 
cutter, there is reason to infer that most of the ofiicers and men were 
on board the ketch, herself, when she blew up. No person is under- 
stood to say that any of the enemy's vessels were seen near the ketch, 
Avhen she exploded, and with these meagre premises, we are left to 
draw our inferences as to the causes of the disaster. 

That Captain Somers was as capable of sacrificing himself, when 
there was an occasion for it, as any man who ever lived, is probably 
as true as it is certain that he would not destroy himself, and much 
less others, without sufficient reason. It has been supposed that the 
ketch was boarded by the enemy, and that her resolute commander 
fired the train in preference to being taken. The spirit created by 
the chivalrous exploits of Decatur, and the high-toned discipline and 
dai-ing of Preble, had communicated to all under their orders, as lofty 
sentiments of duty and zeal as probably were ever found among an 
equal body of generous and ardent young men ; but it is not easy to 
discover a motive why the explosion should have been an intentional 
act of the Americans, and it is easy to discover many why it should 
not. 

There would be but one sufficient justification for an officer's sac- 
rificing himself or his people under such circumstances, and that was 
the impossibility of preventing the ketch from falling into the hands 
of the enemy, by any other means. Neither the evidence of eye- 
witnesses, so far as it is available, nor the accounts of the Tripolitans 
themselves, would appear to show, that when the Intrepid exploded, 
any enemy was near enough to render so desperate a step necessaiy. 
According to the private journal of Captain Bainbridge, neither the 
town nor the Turks suffered materially, and he was carried to the 
beach to see the dead bodies, on the 8th, or two days after the affair. 
This alone would prove that the ketch did not reach the mole. If 
the object were merely to destroy the powder, the men would have 
been previously ordered into the boats, and, even under circum- 
stances that rendered a resort to the fuse inexpedient, the train would 
have been used. That only one man was in the largest boat, is 
known from the condition in which she was found, and this could 
hardlv have happened, under any circumstances, had the magazine 
been ifired intentionally, by means of the train. Every contingency 
had, doubtless, been foreseen. One man was as able as twenty to 
apply the match, and we can see but one state of things, besides be- 
ing boarded by surprise, that would render it likely that the match 



1804. , NAVAL HISTORY. 257 



would have been used until the people were in their boats, or that it 
would have been applied at any other spot, than at the end of a train, 
or aft. A surprise of the nature mentioned, would seem to have 
been impossible, for, though the night was misty, objects might still 
be seen at some little distance, and it is probable, also, that the party 
had glasses. 

From weighing these circumstances, it is the most rational opinion 
that the Intrepid was not intentionally blown up. She was under 
fire at the time, and though it is improbable that the enemy had any 
shot heated to repel an attack so unexpected, a cold shot might easily 
have fired a magazine in the situation of that of the Intrepid. The 
deck of the ketch moreover, was covered with loaded shells, and one 
of these might have been struck and broken. Some other unforeseen 
accident may have occurred. On the other hand, it is necessary to 
state, that Commodore Preble firmly believed that his officers blew 
themselves up, in preference to being made prisoners ; an opinion in 
which it would not be difficult to coincide, were there proof that they 
were in any immediate danger of such a calamity. It was also the 
general conjecture in the squadron then before Tripoli, that such had 
been the fate of these bold adventurers, but it would seem to have 
been formed at the time, rather on an opinion of what the party that 
went in was capable of doing, than on any evidence of what it had 
actually done. 

As it is the province of the historian to present all the leading facts 
of his subject, we shall add, on the other hand, that many little col- 
lateral circumstances appear to have occurred, which may be thought 
to give force to the truth of the common impression. One of the 
best authenticated of these, is connected with what was seen from a 
vessel that was watching the ketch though it was not the schooner 
nearest in. On board this vessel a light was observed moving on a 
horizontal line, as if carried swiftly along a vessel's deck by some 
one in hurried motion, and then to drop suddenly, like a lantern 
sinking beneath a hatchway. Immediately afterwards the ketch ex- 
ploded, and at that precise spot, which would seem to leave no doubt 
that this light was on board the Intrepid. But even this by no means 
establishes the fact that the explosion was intentional. The splin- 
ters, that were to keep the enemy aloof, had not been lighted, and 
this movement with the lantern may have been intended to fire them, 
and may have had some accidental connexion with the explosion. 

In addition to this appearance of the light, which rests on testi- 
mony every way entitled to respect, there was a report brought off" 
by the prisoners, then in Tripoh, when liberated, from which another 
supposition has been formed as to the fate of this devoted vessel, that 
is not without plausibility. It was said that most of the bodies found 
had received gun-shot wounds, especially from grape. One body, 
in particular, was desciibed as having had the small remains of nan- 
keen pantaloons on it, and it was also reported that the hair* was of 
a deep black. Through this person, according to the report, no less 

" It is possible certainly thai this mark may have been observed, but it is more prob- 
able that the hair would have been consumed. Still a hat may have saved it. 
VOL. 1. 17 



258 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

than three grape-shot had passed. This has been supposed to have 
been the body of Captain Somers himself, who was the only one of 
the party that wore nankeen, and wliose hair was of a deep black. 
On the supposition that the proofs of the grape-shot w-ounds actually 
existed, it has been conjectured that, as the ketch advanced, she was 
fired ijito with grape, most of her people shot down, and that the 
magazine was touched ofl" by the two whose bodies were found in (he 
wreck, and who were probably below when the Intrepid exploded. 

That a close fire was opened when the ketch appeared, is beyond 
doubt, and that she was quite near the mole and crown batteries when 
the explosion occurred, is known, not only by means of the glass, 
but by the parts of the wreck that fell on the rocks. Indeed, the situ- 
ation of the latter would give reason to suppose there might be some 
truth in the rumour that she had grounded, in which case her destruc- 
tion by means of shot would have been rendered certain. 

The prevalent opinion that the Intrepid v,as boarded by one or 
more of the gun-boats that lay near the entrance, would seem to have 
been entertained without sufficient proof. These vessels lay some 
distance within the spot Avhere the ketcli blew up, and it was not 
probable that they would have advanced to meet a vessel entering 
the harbour ; for did they suppose her a friend, there would have been 
no motive, and did they suppose her an enemy, they would have 
been much more likely to avoid her. So shy, indeed, had the Tri- 
politans became, after the burning of the Philadelphia, and the 
boarding of their boats, that it was found extremely difficult to get 
their small vessels within the range of musket-balls. Captain Som- 
ers was known to have felt no apprehensions of being boarded by 
these three boats, for, w^hen cautioned by his friend Decatur on that 
head his answer w^as, " they will be more likely to cut and run." In 
this opinion that cool and observant officer was probably right. Had 
there been any vessel near tlie Intrepid when she blew up, the light 
of the explosion would have permitted her also to be seen ; some 
portions of her wreck would have been visible next day ; and her 
masts and sails would probably have been flying in the air, as well as 
those of the ketch. 

But the fact that only thirteen bodies are spoken of in tJie private 
journal of Captain Bainbridge, is almost conclusive on the subject 
that no Tripolitan vessel was blown up on this occasion. This entry 
was made at the time, and before the nature of the expedition, or the 
number of those who had been sent in the ketch, was known to the 
Americans in Tripoli. The thirteen bodies account exactly for all 
on board, and as they came ashore in a most mutilated state, with- 
out clothes, in some instances without legs, arms, or heads, it was 
impossible to say whether they were the mangled remains of friends, 
or enemies. Had a Tripolitan blown up in company, there must 
have been many more bodies in the same state, instead of the precise 
number mentioned, and Captain Bainbridge would have been as 
likely to be taken to see a dead Turk, as to see a dead American. 

The missing gun-boat of which Commodore Preble speaks in his 
report, may have been sunk by a falling shell ; she may have been 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 259 



shattered and hauled into the galley-mole, out of sii>ht ; or, she may 
have removed iu the darkness, and heen confounded next moruini)- 
with others of the flotilla. Observations made, by means of glasses, 
in a crowded port, at a distance of two or three miles, are liable to 
many errors. In short, it would seem to be the better opinion, that, 
from some untoward circumstance, the Intrepid exploded at a ])oint 
Avhere she did little or no injury to the enemy.* 

One of three things seems to be highly probable, concerning this 
long-disputed point. The ketch has either exploded by means of the 
enemy's shot, than which, nothing was easier in the situation where 
she lay ; the men have accidentally fired the magazine, while pre- 
paring to light the splinters below, or it has been done intentionally, 
in consequence of the desperate condition to which the party was 
reduced, by the destruction caused by grape. Of the three, after 
weighing all the circumstances, it is natural to believe that the first 
was the most probable, as it was certainly easier to cause a vessel 
like the Intrepid, with a hundred barrels of loose powder in her 
magazine, to explode by means of shot, than to cause a vessel like 
No. 8, which is known to have been blown up, in this manner, in the 
action of the 7th of August. As regards the grape-shot wounds, it 
will be seen that Captain Bainbridge is silent. 

A sad and solemn mystery, after all our conjectures, must forever 
veil the fiite of these fearless officers and their hardy followers. In 
whatever light we view the aflair, they were the victims of that self- 
devotion which causes the seaman and soldier, to hold his life in 
his hand, when the honour or interest of his country demands the 
sacrifice. The name of Soniers has passed into a battle-cry, in the 
American marine, while those of Wadsworth and Israel are associated 
with all that can ennoble intrepidity, coolness, and daring. 

The war, in one sense, terminated with this scene of sublime 
destruction. Commodore Preble had consumed so much of his 
powder, in the previous attacks, that it was no longer in his power 
to cannonade; and the season was fast getting to be dangerous to 
remain on that exposed coast. The guns, mortars, shells, &c., were 
taken out of the small vessels, on account of the appearance of the 
weather, the day after the loss of the Intrepid, and on the 7th, the 

* The entry in the private journal of Captain Bainbride;e is as follows : " Was inform- 
ed that the explosion that we heard last nis^ht proceeded from a vessel (which the Amer- 
icans attempted to send into the harbour,) blowina^ up ; whicli unfortunate scheme did 
no damage whatever to the Trij)o]itans ; nor did it even appear to heave them into con- 
fusion." " On the 8ih, by the bashaw's permission, with Lieutenant , went to 

the beach of the harbour, and there savi' six persons in a most mangled and burnt con- 
dition, lying on the shore ; whom we supposed to have been part of the unfortunate crew 
of the fire-vessel, the bottom of which grounded on the north side of the rocks near the 
round battery. Two of these distressed-looking objects were fished out of the wreck. 
From the whole of them being so much disfigured, it was impossible to recogni.se any 
known feature to us, or even to distinguish an officer from a .seaman. , who ac- 
companied us, informed me that he saw six others j'esterday, on the shore to the south- 
ward, which were supposed to have come from the same vessel. He also informed me 
that an American si.x-oarcd boat, with one man in her, was found drifted on the beach to 
the westward." 

On tl e subject of Commodore Preble's impressions of the fate of the Intrepid, it may 
be well to say, that the Constitution left Tri|)oli soon after the ketch was blown up, and 
that his letter was dated at Malta, September 18th. Owing lo this circumstance, he 
must necessarily have been ignorant of facts that were subseijuently ascertained. 



260 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

John Adams, Siren, Nautilus, Enterprise, and Scourge, were directed 
to take the bombards and gun-boats in tow, and to proceed to Syra- 
cuse ; while the Constitution, with the Argus and Vixen, in company, 
maintained the blockade. It is not known that another shot was 
fired at Tripoli. 

Three days later, on the 10th of September, 1804, the President 
44, wearing the broad pennant of Commodore Barron, hove in sight, 
with the Constellation 38, Captain Campbell, in company, when the 
command was regularly transferred to the former officer. On the 
12th, two sail were cut off, while attempting to enter Tripoli, loaded 
with wheat. On the 17th, the Constitution reached Malta, with the 
two prizes; and subsequently, Commodore Preble went to Syracuse 
in the Argus. At a later day, he came home in the John Adams, 
where he arrived on the 26th of February, 1805. In the mean time. 
Captain Decatur proceeded to Malta and took command of the Con- 
stitution, which was the first frigate this celebrated officer ever had 
under his orders. 

The country fully appreciated the services of Commodore Preble. 
He had united caution and daring in a Avay to denote the highest 
military qualities; and his success in general, had been in proportion. 
The attack of the Intrepid, the only material failure in any of his 
enterprises, was well arranged, and had it succeeded, it would 
probably have produced peace in twenty-four hours. As it was, the 
bashaw was well enough disposed to treat, though he seems to have 
entered into some calculations in the way of money, that induced him 
to hope the Americans would still reduce their policy to the level of 
his own, and prefer paying ransom, to maintaining cruisers so far 
from home. Commodore Preble, and all the officers and men under 
his orders, received the thanks of Congress, and a gold medal was 
bestowed on the former. By the same resolution, Congress expressed 
the sympathy of the nation in behalf of the relatives of Captain 
Richard Somers,* Lieutenants Henry Wadsworth, James Decatur, 
James R. Caldwell, and Joseph Israel, and Mr. John Sword Dorsey, 
midshipman ; the officei's killed off Tripoli. 

• Vevy little is known of Captain Somers beyond his professional career. He was 
born in Cape May county, New Jersey, and was the son of Colonel Somers, an officer 
of the Revolution. He went early to sea, and had commanded a small vessel, even 
previously to the formation of the navy in 1798. His first cruise was in the United 
States, under Commodore Barry ; and he appears early to have attracted attention by his 
seamanship, zeal, and chivalry. Decatur was his messmate, and both having been at 
sea previously to joining the navy, they were made lieutenants at the .same time, tbe 
commission of Somers having been dated the 2d, and that of his friend on the 3d of June, 
1790. The reader will better understand the tie which united the young commanders 
that served under Preble before Tripoli, when he finds that Stewart was the fir.st lieu- 
tenant of the United States at this time, Somers the third, and Decatur the fourth. After 
the French war, Mr. Somers served in the Boston 28, Captain M'Niell, and made the 
singular cruise to which there has been allusion in the text. He was the officer first 
appointed to command the Nautilus when she was launched, and continued in tbat 
station until the time of his death. 

Captain Somers was a warm-hearted friend, amiable and mild in bis ordinary associa- 
tions, a trained .leaman, and a good officer. His loss was regretted by all who knew 
bim, and, for a time, it cast a gloom over the little service of which he ■was so conspicuous 
and favourite a member. There existed a close intimacy between Decatur and Somers, 
thougb in many respects, their characters were unlike. In a chivalrous love of enter- 
prise, a perfect disregard of danger, and in devotion to the honours of the flag, however, 



1804.] NAVAL HISTORY. 261 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Force of the American squadron -under Com. Barron — A vigoui-ous blockade keptuj) — 
Movement by land — Hamet Caramalli, brother of the Bashaw, unites with the Ameri- 
cans under General Eaton — Attack on Derne — Its submission — The authority of 
Caramalli i)artially acknowIeda;ed — General Eaton presses Com. Barron for rein- 
forcements to march on Tripoli — he is denied — The decision of Com. Barron con- 
sidered — He formally transfers the command to Capt. John Rodgers — The entire force 
under this new disposition — Peace concluded with Tripoli — Influence of the war on 
the fortunes and character of the navy. 

The squadron left in the Mediterranean, under the orders of Com- 
modore Barron, after the departure of Commodore Preble, was much 
the strongest force that the country had then assembled in that sea. 
It was, indeed, the strongest force that had ever been collected under 
the orders of any single officer beneath the American flag; and small 
as it was, in efficiency it was probably more than equal to all the 
active vessels employed at any one period of the war of the Revolu- 
tion. Keeping this fact in view, we look back with surprise, at 
what might then be deemed the greatest effort of a country, that 
possessed 1,000,000 tons of shipping in its mercantile marine, and 
which, witli diminished duties, derived an income of $11,098,565, 
from its imports alone. The force in question, consisted of the 
following vessels, viz: 



President 


44, 


Capt. 


Cox ; Com. Barron. 


Constitution 


44, 




Decatur. 


Congress 


3S, 




Rodgers. 


Constellation 


38, 




Campbell. 


Essex 


32, 




J. Barron. 


Siren 


16, 




Stewart. 


Argus 


16, 




Hull. 


Vi.ven 


12, 




Smith. 


Enterprise 


12, 


Lieut. 


, Com. Robinson. 


Nautilus 


12, 


(( 


" Dent. 



The Scourge 14, went home about this time, and was sold out of 
service, and the bombards and gun- boats borrowed from Naples, as 
a matter of course, were returned to that government. The Ameri- 
cans, however, retained the two prizes taken from the Tripolitans. 
The John Adams 28, Captain Chauncey, also returned to the station 
shortly after landing Commodore Preble in New York ; and two 
vessels were purchased, one at Trieste, and the other at Malta, to be 

they had but one heart ; and a generous emulation urged both to renewed exertions, in 
the peculiar stations in which they had been placed by their commander. 

While serving on the Meditterranean station, Mr. Somers, accompanied by two other 
officers, was walking in the dusk of the evening, a short distance from Syracuse, when 
five Sicilian soldiers made an assault on them with drawn swords, the intention being 
to rob. There was one dirk among the Americans, and no other arms. The officer 
who had this weapon, soon disposed of his assailant, but Mr. Somers was compelled to 
seize the .sword of llic soldier who attacked him, and to close. In doing so he was badly 
wounded in the hand, but he succeeded in disarming the assassin, plunged the weapon 
into his bodj-, when the other three Sicilians fled. The two dead bodies were carried 
into town and recognised, but their comrades were never discovered. 



262 NAVAL HISTORY. [1804. 

I ? \ 

converted into bombards. They were never used in that capacity, 
however, two arrivinsf from America before the season for action had 
returned. Th.e vessel purchased at Malta was converted into a sloop, 
armed and manned, and put under the command of Lieutenant 
Evans. She was called the Hornet. 

The long delay in the appearance of the reinforcement, appears to 
have been owing- to some of those intrigues among the Barbary 
powers, which it has been found has always induced them to co-o])e- 
rate in this, if in no other manner, whenever there was a war with the 
Christians. Commodore Barron was met at the Straits by rumours 
of the bad disposition of the Emjieror of Morocco, and he found it 
necessary to employ part of his force in that quarter in order to 
overawe the Moors. When he went aloft, the Essex was left below, 
and a cruiser or two appears to have been kept constantly on the 
lower station throughout the winter. 

Tlie blockade of Tripoli was maintained by different vessels during 
the bad season of 1S04-5 ; but no attack was attempted, although 
preparations Avere made to renew the war in the spring. One of the 
first measures of Commodore Preble, on reaching America, was to 
vn'jre upon the government the necessity of building suitable bomb- 
ketches, and a few gun-boats fitted to cannonade a place like Tri- 
poli. His advice was followed, the vessels being immediately laid 
down, but it being found impossible to have the ketches ready in 
time, the two vessels before mentioned, were purchased, strengthened, 
and equipped as bombards. 

In November, Captain Rodgers, as the senior officer was put in 
command of the Constitution, while Captain Decatur was transferred 
to the Congress. The winter and spring passed in this manner, the 
blockade being maintained with vigour, most of the time, though no 
event worthy of note occurred off the port. While matters remained 
in this state with the ships, a movement by land, was in the course of 
execution, that must now be recorded, as it is intimately connected 
with the history of the war. 

It has been said already, that Jussuf Caramalli, the reigning 
pacha, or bashaw of Tripoli, was a usurper, having deposed his elder 
brother Hamet, in order to obtain the throne. The latter had escaped 
from the regency, and after passing a wandering life, he had taken 
refuge among the Mamelukes of Egypt. It had often been suggested 
to the American agents, that the dejwsed prince might be made useful 
in carrying on the war against the usurper, and at different times, 
several projects had been entertained to that effect, though never with 
any results. At length, Mv. Eaton, the consul at Tunis, who had 
been a captain in the army, interested himself in the enterprise ; and 
coming to America, he so far prevailed on the government to lend 
itselfto his views, as to oljtain a species of indirect support. Com- 
modore Barron Avas directed to co-operate with Mr. Eaton, as Hir as 
he might deem it discreet. 

When the new squadron arrived out, it was accordingly ascer- 
tained wlierc the ex-bashaw was to ht found, and Mr. Eaton at once 
commenced his oi)erations. Two or three days after Commodore 



1805.] • NAVAL HISTORY. 263 

Barron had assumed the command before Tripoli, he sent tlie Aro-us 
16, Ca|)taiii Hull, with that i>eiit!emau to Alexandria, where he 
arrived on the '26th of November. On the 29th, Mr. Eaton, accom- 
panied by Lieutenant O'Bannon, of the marines, and Messrs. Mann 
and Daiiielson, two midshipmen of the squadron, proceeded to 
Rosetta, and thence to Cairo. The viceroy of Egypt received tiiem 
with favour, and permission was obtained for the prince of Tripoli 
to pass out of the country unmolested, though he had been lighting 
ajxainst the <>-overnment, with the discontented Mamelukes. 

As soon as Hamet Caramalli received the proposals ot Mv. Eaton, 
he separated himself from the Mamelukes, attended by about forty 
followers, and repaired to a j)oint twelve leagues to the westward of 
the old port of Alexandria. Here he was soon joined by Mr. Eaton, 
at tlie head of a small troop of adventurers, whom he had obtained 
in Egypt. This party was composed of all nations, though Mr. 
Eaton expressed his belief, at the time, that had he j)ossessed the 
means of subsistence, he might have marched a body of 3U,00!) men 
against Tripoli, the reigning bashaw having forced so many. of his 
subjects into banishment. Soon after the junction agreed upon, Mr. 
Eaton, who now assumed the title of general, marched in the direction 
of Derne, taking the route across the Desert of Barca. This was 
early in 1805. 

The Argus had returned to Malta for orders and stores, and on 
the 2d of April, she re-appeared oft' Bomba, with the Hornet 10, 
Lieutenant Commandant Evans, in company. Cruising on this 
coast a few days, witiiout obtaining any intelligence of General Eaton 
and the bashaw, Captain Hull steered to the westward, and, a kw 
leagues to the eastward of Derne, he fell in with the Nautilus, Lieu- 
tenant Commandant Dent. On communicating with this vessel, 
Avhicli was lying close in with the shore. Captain Hull ascertained that 
the expedition was on the coast, and that it waited only for the arms 
and supplies that had been brought to attack Derne, from which 
town it was but a league distant. A field-piece was landed, together 
with some stores and muskets, and a few marines appear to have 
been put under the orders of Mr. O'Bannon, of the corps, when the 
vessels took their stations to aid in the attack. 

It was 2, P. M., on the 27th of April, 1805, that this assault, so 
novel for Americans to be engaged in, in the other hemisphere, was 
commenced. The Hornet, Lieutenant Commandant Evans, having 
run close in, and anchored with springs on her cables, within pistol- 
shot of a battery of eight guns, opened her fire. The Nautilus lay 
at a little distance to the eastward, and the Argus still further in the 
same direction, the two latter firing on the town and battery. In 
about an hour, the enemy were driven from the work, when all the 
vessels directed their guns at the beach, to clear the way for the ad- 
vance of the party on shore. The enemy made an irregular but 
spirited defence, keeping up a heavy fire of musketry, as the assailants 
advanced, from behind liouses and walls. At half-past 3, however, 
Lieutenant O'Bannon and Mr. Mann stormed the principal work, 
hauling down the Tripolitan ensign, and, for the first lime in the 



264 NAVAL HISTORY. [1S05. 

history oftlie country, hoisting- that of the republic on a fortress of 
the old world. The enemy were driven out of this work Avilh so 
much precipitation, that they left its guns loaded, and even primed. 
The cannon were immediately turned upon the town, and Hamet 
Caramalli having made a lodgment on the other side, so as to bring 
the enemy between two fires, the place submitted. At 4 o'clock, 
the boats of the vessels landed with ammunition for the guns and to 
bring ofl'the wounded, Derne being completely in possession of the 
assailants. 

In this affair, only 14 of the assailants Avere killed and wounded. 
General Eaton being among the latter. The attack was made by 
about 1200 men, while the place was supposed to be defended by 
three or four thousand. One or two attempts were made by the 
Tripolitans, to regain possession, but they were easily repulsed, and 
on one occasion, with some loss. The deposed bashaw remained 
in possession of the town, and his authority was partially recognised 
in the province. General Eaton now earnestly pressed Commodore 
Barron for further supplies and reinforcements, with a view to march 
on Tripoli ; but they were denied, on the ground that Hamet 
Caramalli was in possession of the second province of the regency, 
and if he had the influence that he pretended to, he ought to be 
able to effect his object by means of the ordinary co-operation of the 
squadron. 

This decision of Commodore Barron was the subject of much 
political and military criticism at the time, that officer having been 
censured for not sustaining a successful partisan, who certainly 
promised to terminate the war in a manner much beyond the most 
sanguine hopes of the country. It is not easy to decide on the merits 
or demerits of measures of this nature, without being in possession 
of all the distinctive facts that must govern every enterprise, and it is 
proper to abstain from venturing an opinion, that might not be enter- 
tained at all, when intimately acquainted Avirh circumstances. The 
nature of the fighting at Derne shows that little had as yet been over- 
come, and, as the force of the reigning bashaw was known to be not 
less than 20,000 men, in some measure inured to war, it would have 
been the height of imprudence to have advanced against the capital, 
at the head of the insignificant and ill-organised force that was col- 
lected at Derne. On the other hand, did it appear, that, by merely 
supplying arms and ammunition, with hospital stores and other 
military supplies, a column of force could have been marched in front 
of Tripoli, with reasonable hopes of obtaining a support fronj the 
population, there would have been an error in judgment in denying 
the request. Whatever may have been the true character of the 
decision taken, however. Commodore Barron would seem to have 
had but little concern with it, as that excellent officer and highly 
respectable gentleman was in extremely ill health at the time, with 
but faint hojics of recovery, and on tlie 22d of May, he formally 
transferred the command of the squadron in the Mediterranean, as 
well as of the vessels expected, to Captain John Rodgers, the officer 



1805.] 



NAVAL HISTORY. 



265 



next in rank to himself. The 
when tlie vessels known to be 
follows : 

Constitution 

President 

Constellation 

Congress 

Essex 

John Adams 

Siren 

Argus 

Vixen 

Nautilus 

Enterprise 

Hornet 

Vengeance 

Spitfire 



entire force under this new disposition, 
about to sail should arrive, would be as 



Bombs. 



CNo. 



Gun-boats. < 



L 



2 
3 
4 
5 

6 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 



44, 
44, 
38, 
38, 
32, 
28, 
16, 
16, 
12, 
12, 
12, 
12, 



1 gun, 

2 " 
2 " 
2 " 
2 " 
2 " 
2 " 
2 " 
1 " 
1 " 



Com. Rodgers. 

Capt. Cox. 

" Campbell. 

" Decatur. 

" J. Barron. 

" Chauncey. 

" Stewart. 

" Hull. 

" Smith. 
Lieut. Com. Dent. 

" " Robinson. 

" " Evans. 

" Lewis. 

" M'Niell. 

" Izard. 

" Maxwell. 

" J. D. Henley. 

" Harrison. 

" Lawrence. 

" Harraden. 

" Elbert. 

" Carter. 



The bombards mentioned in the foregoing list, were the two ves- 
sels purchased in America and fitted for the purpose ; and gun-boats 
Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10, were large of their class, having been 
regularly and carefully constructed at home. They were long, low, 
narrow vessels, principally sloop-rigged, and most of them mounted 
two heavy thirty-two-pounders, one at each end. As they were ready 
to sail in the mild season, it was thought by putting their guns be- 
low, they might be carried across the Atlantic, although their gun- 
wales, when the vessels were ready for service, were scarcely two feet 
from the water. They sailed at different times, and all arrived 
safely but one. No. 7, Lieutenant Ogilvie, sailed May 14, 1805, but 
springing her mast, she returned to New York to refit. She sailed 
a second time, June the 20th, and was never heard of afterwards. 
No. 7 made the fourth American cruiser that had thus disappeared 
within thirty years.* It is worthy of remark, that the remaining 
eight boats arrived at Syracuse within forty-eight hours of each other. 
Lieutenant James Lawrence took No. 6 to the Mediterranean, arriv- 
ing safely. When near the Western Islands, he fell in with the 
British frigate Lapwing 28, Captain Upton, which ran for him, un- 
der the impression that the gun-boat was some wrecked mariners on 

'Saratoga 16, I'lnsurgente 36, Pickering 14, and No. 7. 



266 NAVAL HISTORY. [1805. 

a raft, there being a great show of canvass, and apparently no hull. \ 
On the 12th of June, No. 6 fell in with the fleet of Admiral Colling- 
wood, off Cadiz, and while Mr. Lawrence was on board one of the 
British ships, a boat was sent and took three men out of No. 6, under 
the pretence that they were Englishmen. On his return to his own 
vessel, Mr. Lawrence hauled down his ensign, but no notice was 
taken of the proceeding by the British. It is a fitting commentary 
on this transaction, that, in the published letters of Lord Colling- 
wood, where he speaks of the impressment of Americans, he says 
that England would not submit to such an aggression for an hour! 
Shortly after assuming the command, Commodore Rodgers trans- 
ferred Captain J. Barron from the Essex 32, to the President 44, 
giving the former ship to Captain Cox, who was only a master and 
commander. 

Negotiations for peace now commenced in earnest, Mr. Lear hav 
ing an-ived off Tripoli, for that purpose, in the Essex, Captain Bar 
ron. After the usual intrigues, delays, and prevarications, a treaty 
was signed on the 3d of June, 1805. By this treaty, no tribute was 
to be paid in future, but $60,000 were given by America, for the ran 
som of the remaining prisoners, after exchanging the Tripolitans in 
her power, man for man. 

It is not easy to express approbation of the terms of this peace. 
America had been contending for the usages of civilisation, and the 
rights of nations, and the ransom was a direct abandonment of both. 
When we remember the force that was about to assemble before 
Tripoli, the season of the year, the fact that Derne was occupied by 
Hamet Caramalli, and the disposition that so generally prevailed in 
the squadron to renew the attacks on the enemy, we find it difficult 
to believe that better terms might not have been obtained. How far 
the course of the negotiator was compelled by his instructions, we 
have no means of saying, but the treaty was approved and ratified. 
While many condemned it as unwise, all, however, rejoiced that it 
was the means of restoring so niany brave men to their country. It 
is no more than liberal, moreover, to believe that the situation of these 
unfortunate officers and men, had a deep influence in inducing the 
government to forego abstract considerations, with a view to their 
relief. 

Thus terminated the war witJi Tripoli, after an existence of four 
years. It is probable that the United States would have retained in 
service some officers, and would have kept up a small force, had not 
this contest occurred, but its influence on the fortunes and character 
of the navy is incalculable. It saved the first, in a degree at least, 
and it may be said to have formed the last. Perhaps no service, 
either in the way of ships or officers, ever had so large a proportion 
of what was excellent in it, and so small a proportion of that which 
was defective, as the navy of the United States, the day peace was 
signed with Tripoli. A stern discipline, a high moral tone, rare 
models in seamanship, active warfare, the means of comparison, and 
a spirit of emulation that is certain to carry the national character to 
the higliest level, whenever the national energies can be permitted to 



1805.] NAVAL HISTORY. 267 

exhibit themselves, had conspired to produce this end. The petulant 
and always questionable proofs of private rencontres, which are so 
apt to sully the renown of infant services, had disappeared in a chiv- 
alry that seemed to have forgotten all but the country and her honour. 
Not a duel was fought during the command of Preble ; the brave 
men assembled under his orders, regarded each other as brothers, 
and the honour of one appeared to be connected with the honour of 
all. An admirable esprit de corjjs was created, and the button, which 
bore the emblem of the common profession, was deemed a signal of 
the presence of a friend. Men had stood by each other in moments 
of severe trial, and even the body of the nation, Avhich is so little ad- 
dicted to the sentimental, or the abstract, began to regard the flag 
with oj)en pride. In a word, the tone, discipline, pride, eiluilation, 
and spirit, that the navy derived from this remote and, in one sense, 
unimportant war, prepared it for another and a severer trial that was 
at hand. The impression produced in the Mediterranean was also 
favourable, and the head of the Romish church is said to have pub- 
licly declared, that America had done more for Christendom, against 
the barbarians, than all the powers of Europe united. 



APPENDIX. 



Note A. 

Agreement between Captain John Paul Jones and the Officers of the 

Squadron. 

[Translation.] 

Agreement between Messrs. John Paul Jones, Captain of the 
Bon Homme Richard ; Pierre Landais, Captain of the Alhance ; 
Dennis Nicolas Cottineau, Captain of the Pallas; Joseph Varage, 
Captain of the Stag (le Cerf) ; and Philip Nicolas Ricot, Captain 
of the Vengeance ; composing a squadron, that shall be commanded 
by the oldest officer of the highest grade, and so on in succession, 
in case of death or retreat. None of the said commanders, whilst 
they are not separated from the said squadron, by order of the min- 
ister, shall act but by virtue of the brevet which they shall have 
obtained from the United States of America; and it is agreed that 
the flag of the United States shall be displayed. 

The division of prizes to the superior officers and crews of said 
squadron, shall be made agreeably to the American laws ; but it is 
agreed, that the proportion of the whole, coming to each vessel of 
the squadron, shall be regulated by the minister of the marine depart- 
ment of France, and the minister plenipotentiary of the United 
States of America. 

A copy of the American laws shall be annexed to the present 
agreement, after having been certified by the commander of the Bon 
Homme Richard ; but as the said laws cannot foresee nor determine 
as to what may concern the vessels and subjects of other nations, it 
is expressly agreed, that Avhatever may be contrary to them shall be 
regulated by the minister of the French marine, and the minister of 
the United States of America. 

It is likewise agreed, that the orders given by the minister of the 
French marine, and the minister plenipotentiary of the United States, 
shall be executed. 

Considering the necessity there is for preserving the interests of 
each individual, the prizes that shall be taken shall be remitted to the 
orders of Monsieur le Ray de Chaumont, Honorary Intendant of the 
Royal Hotel of Invalids, who has furnished the expenses of the 
armament of said squadron. 



270 APPENDIX. 



It is agreed, that M. le Ray de Chaumont be requested not to give 
up the part of the prizes coming to all the crews, and to each individ- 
ual of the said squadi'on, but to their order, and to be responsible for 
the same in his own proper name. 

Whereas the said squadron has been formed for the purpose of 
injuring the common enemies of France and America, it has been 
agreed that such armed vessels, whether French or Amei-ican, may 
be associated therewith, as by common consent shall be found suita- 
ble for the purpose, and that they shall have such proportion of the 
prizes which shall be taken, as the laws of their respective countries 
allow. 

In case of the death of any one of the before mentioned command- 
ers of vessels, he shall be replaced agreeably to the order of the tariff, 
with liberty, however, to choose whether he will remain in his own 
ship, or give up to the next in order the command of the vacant ship. 

It has moreover been agreed, that the commander of the Stag 
(le Cerf) shall be excepted from the last article of this present agree- 
ment, because, in case of a disaster to M. de Varage, he shall be 
replaced by his second in command, and so on by the other officers 
of his cutter, the Stag (le Cerf). 

J. P. Jones, 
P. Landais, 
De Cottineau, 
Varage, 

P. RiCOT, 

Le Ray de Chaumont. 

(Spark's Diplomatic Correspondence, page 205, vol. iii.) 



Note B. 

In consequence of the infancy of the arts in America, both the 
soldiers and seamen have had to contend with their enemies, in the 
wars that are passed, under the disadvantages of possessing inferior 
arms, powder, and even shot. How far these deficiencies in the guns 
and shot may have been felt in the Revolution, it is not easy to say, 
as a large portion of the military supplies were obtained either from 
the enemy himself, or from Europe. After the Revolution, however, 
down to the close of the last war with England, the navy in particu- 
lar laboured under great disadvantages on account of defective arma- 
ments and stores. In many of the actions, more men were injured 
by the bursting of guns than by the fire of the enemy, and the shot, 
from improper casting, frequently broke when they struck. Another 
consequence of this defective casting was a diminution in weight, 
and consequently, in momentum. The latter fact having been allud- 
ed to, in the course of the war, the writer, with a view to this work, 
personally weighed a quantity of shot, both English and American, 



APPENDIX. 271 



and made a note of the results. It was found that the old shot, or 
those with which the ships were supphed at the commencement of 
the war of 181:2, were comparatively Ughter than those which liad 
been cast at a later day; but in no instance was an American shot 
even then found of full weight. On the other hand, the Enghsh shot 
were uniformly of accurate weight. Some of the American 32 pound 
shot, weighed but 30 pounds ; and a gentleman present on the occa- 
sion, assured the writer that, a few years earlier, he had met with 
many which did not much exceed 29 pounds. The heaviest weigh- 
ed was 31 pounds 3 ounces. An average of four, all of which were 
of the later castings, gave 30 pounds 1 1 ounces. The average of the 
18 pound shot was about 17 pounds ; but, it Avas understood, as this 
examination occurred several years after the peace, that the shot, as 
well as the guns, were then materially better than they had been 
previously to and during the war. 

The reader will bear in mind that twelve French pounds make 
nearly thirteen English. Thus, while the gun-deck batteries of 
I'Insurgente were nominally twelves, the shot weighed aboilt 13 
pounds. On the other hand, the gun-deck batteries of the Constella- 
tion were nominally twenty-fours, but the shot probably weighed 
about 22 pounds. 

In the action with la Vengeance, the two ships had the same nom- 
inal weight of metal on their gun-decks, viz. eighteen pounders. 
But the eighteen-pound shot of the Vengeance rnust have weighed 
nearly 19^ English pounds, while those of the Constellation did not 
probably w eigh 17 pounds, if indeed they weighed more than 16 
pounds. 

It has been asserted that the English shot were over-weight, but 
the writer weighed a good many himself, and he found them all sur- 
prisingly accurate. 

Note C. 

List of the Officers of the Navy, before the Peace Establishment 
Law 0/I8OI was passed. 

CAPTAINS. 

John Barry, Samuel Barron, 

Samuel Nicholson, Moses Brown, 

Silas Talbot, Moses Tryon, 

Richard Dale, Richard Derby, 

Thomas Truxtun, George Little, 

James Sever, John Rodgers, 

Stephen Decatur, Edward Preble, 

Christopher R. Perry, John Mullowny, 

Richard V. Morris, James Barron, 

Alexander Murray, Thomas Baker, 

Daniel M'Niell, Henry Geddes, 

Thomas Tingey, Thomas Robinson, 



272 



APPENDIX. 



% 



Patrick Fletcher, 
George Cross, 



William Bainbi-idge, 
Hugh G. Campbell. 



MASTERS COMMANDANT. 



Cyrus Talbot, 
David Jevvett, 
William Cowper, 
Richard Law, Jr. 



Charles C. Russell, 
Benjamin Miliar, 
John A. Spotswood. 



List of Officers retained on the Peace Establishment. 

We have set opposite to every name, the ultimate station each 
individual attained as far as can be ascertained, and as a means of 
showing- the average fortunes of those who have been engaged in the 
hardy service of the sea. 

CAPTAINS. 



John Barry, 
Samuel Nicholson, 
Richard Dale, 
Thomas Truxtun, 
Richard V. Morris, 
Alexander Murray, 
Samuel Barron, 
John Rodgers, 
Edward Preble, 
James Bari'on, 
William Bainbridge, 
Hugh G. Campbell, 



Charles Stewart, - 
Isaac Hull, 
Andrew Sterrett, - 

John Shaw, 
John M'Rea, 
Isaac Chauncey, - 
Robert W. Hamilton, 
John Ballard, 
John Rusli, 
John Smith, 
Freeborn Banning, 
Richard Somers, - 
Steplien Decatur, 
George Cox, 
John H. Dent, 
Thomas Robinson, Jr. 
John Cowper, 
John T. R. Cox, - 



died at the head of the navy, in 1803. 
do. do. do. do. in 1811. 
resigned in 180*2. 
do. in 1802. 
dismissed without trial, 1804. 
died at the head of the service, in 1821. 
died 1810. 

died at the head of the service, in 1838. 
died in 1807. 

at the head of the service, 1846. 
died in 1833. 
. died in 1820. 

LIEUTENANTS. 

• second on the list of captains, 1846. 

• died a captain, 1844. 

• resigned, a master commandant, in 

1805. 

- died a captain, in 1823. 

• resigned 1803. 

■ died a captain, 1842. 

• resigned 1802. 
. resigned 1801. 

- resigned 1802. 

- died a captain, in 1815. 

- resigned 1802. 

- killed in battle, a master com., in 1804. 

- killed in a duel, a captain, in 1820. 

- resigned, a master com., in 1808. 

- died, a captain, in 1823. 

- resigned, a muster com., in 1809. 

- resigned in 1801. 

- resigned in 1804. 



APPENDIX. 



273 



William C. Jenks, 
David Porter, 
John Cassin, 
Samuel Evans, 
George G. Lee, 
Charles Gordon, - 
Richard H. L. Lawson, 
Godfrey Wood, 
Edward Wyer, 
Geo. W. Tew, 
Henry Vandyke, - 
John M. Claggett, 
Phil. C. Wederstrandt, 
Joshua Blake, 
Joseph Tarbell, 
James R. Caldwell, 
LeAvis C. Bailey, - 

Jacob Jones, 



dismissed in 1804. 
resigned, a captain, in 1826. 
died, a captain, in 1822. 
died, a captain, in 1824. 
resigned in 1805. 
died, a captain, in 1817. 
resigned in 1804. 
resigned in 1802. 
resigned in 1805. 

died on the Mediterranean station, 1803. 
killed in a duel, in 1803. 
lost in the Bay of Gibraltar, 1801. 
resigned, a master com., 1810. 
resigned in 1806. 
died, a captain, in 1815. 
killed in battle, in 1804. 
dropped subsequently, under the re- 
duction law. 
third on the list of captains, 1846. 



Wm. Henry Allen, 
Samuel Angus, 

Thos. O. Anderson, 
William Butler, 
Joseph Bainbridge, 
William Burrows, 
William Blake, - 
Samuel G. Blodgett, 
Clement 'Biddle, 
James Biddle, 
P. C. Blake, 
Edward Bennett, - 
Johnston Blakely, 
Thomas T. Beall, 
Walter Boyd, 
Peter E. Bentley, 
James Bigors, 
E. R. Blau^ie, 
Thomas Brown, 
Michael B. Carrol, 
George Calder,"* 
Edward N. Cox, - 
Aaron F. Cook, 
William Campbell, 
William IM. Crane, 
Stephen Cassin, 
J. Orde Creighton, 

VOL. I. 



MIDSHIPMEN. 

killed in battle, a master com., 1814. 
dismissed and subsequently pensioned 

a captain, in 1824. 
resigned, a lieutenant, 1807. 
resigned 1807. 
died, a captain, in 1824, 
killed in battle, a lieut. com., in 1813. 
did not join, and was dropped, 
drowned, a lieutenant, in 1810. 
resigned 1804. 
seventh captain, 1846. 
resigned 1804. 
died, a lieutenant, in 1810. 
lost at sea, a mast, com., in 1814. 
resigned 1803. 
dismissed in 1810. 
resigned 1802. 
resigned 1803. 
resigned in 1804. 
died, a captain, in 1828. 
resigned, a master commandant, 
resigned 1802. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1809. 
permitted to retire, in 1801. 
resigned 1802. 
sixth captain, 1846. 
tenth captain, in 1838. 
died, a captain, in 1838. 

18 



274 



APPENDIX. 



H. P. Casey, 
William Cutbush, 
Henry J. Cobb, 
J. P. D. H. Craig, 
Richard Carey, 

Charles Coomb, 
Winlock Clark, - 
James Decatur, 
"William Duncanson, 
John Dorsey, 
Daniel S. Dexter, 
John Davis, 
David Deacon, 
George Dabney, 
John Downes, 
Samuel Elbert, 
John Gallaway, 
James Gibbon, 

J. M. P. Gardner, 
Sloss H. Grinnell, 
Ed. Giles, 
Allen J. Green, 
Jno. Goodwin, Jr. 
Geo. H. Geddes, - 
Wm. Gregory, 
Jas. S. Higginbotham, 
Alex. C. Harrison, 
Bernard Henry, 
George Hackley, - 
James Haight, 
Sewal Handy, 
Thos. R. Hardenburgh, 
Philip Henop, 
A. J. Hinton, 

John D. Henley, - 
Seymour Hooe, 
Alfred Hazard, 
John Hartley, 
J. Montresor Haswell, 
Theodore Hunt, - 
Daniel C. Heath, - 
Robert Henley, 
Ralph Izard, 
Joseph Israel, 
Robert Innes, 
A. K. Kearney, 
Charles Ludlow, - 



retired in 1805. 

resigned 1805. 

resigned 1803. 

retired in 1805. 

retired under peace establishment law, 
in 1801. 

died in 1804. 

drowned, a lieutenant, in 1810. 

killed in battle, a lieutenant, in 1804. 

dropped from list. 

killed in battle, in 1804. 

died, a master and commander, 1818. 

died, a lieutenant, in 1818. 

died a captain, 1841. 

resigned 1805. 

ninth captain, 1846. 

died, a lieutenant, in 1812. 

died in 1804. 

burnt in Richmond theatre, a lieuten- 
ant, in 1811. 

died, a master commandant, in 1815. 

retired, a lieutenant, in 1807. 

resigned 1804. 

resigned 1803 

died in 1804. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1811. 

did not accept. 

died, a lieutenant, in 1808. 

died, a lieutenant, in 1809. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1812. 

died in 1805. 

resigned 1802. 

resigned 1804. 

did not join, and was dropped. 

resigned 1801. 

subsequently discharged under reduc- 
tion law. 

died, a captain, in 1835. 

resigned 1801. 

dismissed in 1809. 

resigned 1802. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1810. 

resigned, a master com.,. in 1811. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1805. 

died, a captain, in 1828. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1810. 

killed in battle, in 1804. 

drowned on service, in 1802. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1808. 

resigned, a master com., in 1813. 



APPENDIX. 



275 



James T. Leonard, 
James Lawrence, 
William Livingston, 
A. B. Lord, 
Daniel M'Niell, Jr. 
Joseph Murdock, 
Louis M'Lane, 

William Miller, 
Joseph Maxwell, - 
Charles Mills, 
Daniel Murray, 
Geo. A. Marcellin, 
Charles Morris, Jr. 
Charles 3Ioore, 
George Merrill, 
Archibald M'Call, 
William M'Intosh, 
George Mitchell, - 
James Mackay, 
Thomas M'Donough, 
Humphrey Magrath, 
George Mann, 
W. R. Nicholson, 
Jno. B. Nicholson, 
James Nicholson, 
William F. Nicholls, 
William Newman, 
Edward O'Brien, 
Peter S. Ogilvie, - 
Francis Patton, 
Daniel Polk, 
Oliver H. Perry, - 
Benj. Page, 
Octavius A. Page, 
Henry Page, 
Daniel T. Patterson, 
George Parker, 
Stephen Proctor, 
States Rutledge, 
Charles G. Ridgely, 
Heathcote J. Reed, 
George W. Reed, 
Charles Reed, 
Benj. F. Read, 
Jos. Richardson, - 
John Rowe, 
James Renshaw, - 
Charles Robinson, 
Benjamin Smith, 



died, a captain, in 1832. 
killed in battle, a captain, in 1813.. 
resigned, a lieutenant, in 1804. 
unknown. 

retired, a lieutenant, in 1807. 
died in service. 

resigned in 1802 ; afterwards secreta- 
ry of state, <fcc. 
retired in 1807. 
died, a lieutenant, in 1806. 
resigned 1804. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1811. 
died, a lieutenant, in 1810. 
fourth captain, 1846. 
died in service early, 
died, a lieutenant, 1822. 
resigned 1802. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1808. 
fate unknown. 
I'esigned 1803. 
died, a captain, in 1825. 
resigned, a lieutenant, in 1809. 
resigned, a lieutenant, in 1811. 
killed in a duel, in 1805. 
resigned, a lieutenant, in 1810. 
resigned 1804. 
resigned 1804. 
resigned 1803. 
retired in 1804. 

lost at sea, a lieutenant, in 1805. 
resigned, a lieutenant, in 1806. 
resigned 1804. 

died at sea, a captain, in 1818. 
resigned 1803. 
died, a lieutenant, in 1813. 
resigned 1803. 
died a captain, 1841. 
died at sea, a master com., in 1814. 
resigned 1803. 
resigned 1802. 
eighth captain, 1846. 
died, a lieutenant, in 1812. 
died, a master com., in 1813. 
resigned 1806. 

died, a lieutenant com., in 1813. 
resigned 1803. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1808. 
eleventh captain, 1846. 
resigned 1807. 
died, a lieutenant, in 1807. 



276 



APPENDIX. 



Arthur Sinclair, 
Robert Stewart, 
William Scallen, - 
John Shattuck, 
G. W. Spottswood, 
Maurice Simons, - 
I>aniel Simms, 
John Shore, 
H. Savage, 
W. P. Smith, 
Sidney Smith, 
Thomas Swartwout, Jr. 
Robert T. Spence, 
Simon Smith, 
W. M. Smith, 
Richard Thomas, 
John Trippe, 
Rob. L. Tilghman, 
William Thorn, 
Edward Trenchard, 
Jonathan Thorn, - 
Benjamin Turner, 
Jacob R. Valk, 
Jacob Vickery, 
Sybrant Van Schaick, 
A. Woodruff, 
Daniel Wurts, 
E. Willis. 
Henry Wadsworth, 
John Wood, 
Walter Winter, 
Lewis Warrington, 
Charles Wilson, 
M. T. Woolsey, - 
Wallace Wormley, 
Samuel Woodhouse, 



died, a captain, in 1831. 

drowned, a lieutenant. 

resigned 1806. 

fate unknown, a lieutenant. 

resigned 1803. 

declined. 

resigned 1804. 

resigned 1803. 

resigned 1801. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1808. 

died, a master com., in 1827. 

killed in a duel, in 1801. 

died, a captain, in 1827 

died at sea, in 1806. 

declined. 

resigned 1802. 

died, a lieutenant com., in 1810. 

resigned 1802. 

retired in 1805. 

died, a captain, in 1824. 

blown up, a lieutenant, in 1810. 

killed in a duel, a lieut., in 1807 

resigned in 1808. 

declined. 

resigned, a lieutenant, in 1807. 

resigned in 1803. 

resigned in 1802. 

drowned in Bay of Gibraltar, 1800. 

killed in battle, a lieut., in 1804. 

resigned in 1804. 

drowned, a lieutenant, 1813. 

fifth captain, 1846. 

resigned 1803. 

died, a captain, in 1838. 

entered marine corps. 

died, a captain, 1842. 



END OF VOL. I. 



HISTORY 

OF 

THE NAVY 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES OE AMERICA. 

VOL. II. 



CONTENTS TO VOL. II. 



CHAPTER I. 

Change in policy of government, as respects the Barbary powers — Com. Rodgersbefore 
Tunis — Rank of Master Commandant restored — Promotions — Commencement of gun- 
boat system — Equipment of tlie Chesapeake 38, for the Mediterranean, her departure 
and action with English ship Leopard 50 — Trial of Com. Barron; its results and 
merits. PageT. 

CHAPTER n. 

Strange policy of government, as shown in the embargo — More vessels put in commis- 
sion — Developement of guu,boat system — Commencement of armaments on the Lakes 
— AiFair of the President and Little Belt — the merits of that occurrence, and the feel- 
ing of the country — The question of the right of Impressment considered. • - 22. 

CHAPTER m. 

Events just preceding the war — Constitution at Portsmouth — at Cherbourg, &c — State of 
the navy in 1812 — Marine Corps — Policy of the government in reference to the navy in 
the event of war — Feeling of the country on the subject. - • - - 35. 

CHAPTER IV. 

War declared against England — Vessels sail on a cruise — Chase of the Belvidera36; 
and action with that ship — Cruise of Com. Rodgers — Constitution sails under Capt. 
Hull — Her brilliant escape from an English squadron — Essex 32, Capt. Porter, sails on 
a cruise — captures the Alert 15 — Constitution captures the Guerriere — Eflectof the vic- 
tory — Promotion of Lt. Morris to be a captain. 43. 

CHAPTER V. 

Neglect of navy by Congress — Com. Rodgers' second cruise — United States captures 
the Macedonian — Cruise of the Argus — Cruises of the Wasp and the combat with 
the Frolic 60. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Squadron of Com. Bainbridge — He sails with only two of his ships — Challenge to the 
Bonne Citoyenne — Action between the Constitution and Java — Action between Hor- 
net and Peacock — Congress determines to increase the navy — Bainbridge quits the 
Constitution — Lawrence promoted. - .......67 

CHAPTER VII. 

Essex sails to join Com. Bainbridge — Captures the Nocton — Kocton recaptured — Touch, 
es at different places without meeting the Commodore — Capt. Porter deterimines to 
go round the Horn — reaches Valparaiso — Captures a Peraviancorsaii* — makesseveral 
prizesof enemy's whalers — equips a cruiser, called the Georgiana 16; Lieut. Com. 
Downes — Paints and refits his own ship, at sea, living on the enemy. - - 75. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Cruise of the Essex and Georgiana — Captures of the British whalers Atlantic and Green- 
wich by the Essex — Capture of the British whale ships Catherine and Rose by the 
Georgiana — Sharp combat with and capture of the Hector by the same — The Georgi- 
ana is despatched for America, with oil — Lieut. Downes and crew transferred to the 
prize ship Atlantic, (Essex Junior) — The Essex captures the English whalers Charl- 
ton, Seringapatam and New Zealander — The prisoners of the Essex are sent in the 
Charlton to Rio Janeiro, on parole — The Rose is given up to the prisoners of the Geor- 
giana, and sent to St. Helena— The ship Sir Andrew Hammond taken by the Essex 
— Capt. Porter proceeds to the Marquesas to refit. ..... 82. 



IV CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Capt. Porter, with his ships, puts in at Nooaheevah to overhaul — Brief notice of the Essex 
and her service — The New Zealander, with oil despatched forAmerica— Fort built at 
Nooaheevah and Lieut. Gamble put in command — The Essex and Essex Junior de- 
part for the coast of South America — Arrival of the British ships Pha?be and Cherub, 
while anchored at Valparaiso — Putting out to Fea, the Essex is struck by a squall — 
She regains the port — Attack on the Essex by the Phcbe and Cherub — Surrender of 
the Essex- -The Essex Junior proceeds to America as a cartel— Fate of the party left 
at Nooaheevah. Page 87. 

CHAPTER X. 

Imperfect condition of certain ships of the navy — Equipment of the Constellation — she is 
blockaded by a British fleet at Hampton Roads — Skilful preparations for her defence, 
by Capt. Stewart — Compliment paid him by the B ritish officer.s — He is transferred to 
the Constitution — Cruise of the Chesapeake, Capt. Evans — she captures four mer- 
chantmen — Change in the policy of the enemy with regard to the eastern states — 
Contemplated cruise of the Chesapeake, Capt. Lawrence — Disaffection among her 
crew — Her action with and capture by the British ship Shannon — Death of Capt. 
Lawrence — Sketch of his life. 98. 

CHAPTER XL 

The Vixen, Capt. Reed, is captured by the Southampton — Both vessels are soon after 
wrecked — Crui.se of the Siren, Captain Parker — Death and notice of Capt. P. — The 
Siren, Lieut. Nicholson, is captured by the Medway — The Enterprise, Lieut. Blakely, 
captures the privateer Fly — Under Lieut. Comdt. Burrows, her action with and cap- 
ture of the British brig Boxer — Commanders of both ships are killed — Notice of Lieut. 
B. — Under Lieut. Renshaw, the Enterprise captures the British privateer Mars- 
Capture of the Rattlesnake, Lieut. Comdt. Renshaw, by the Leander. - - 107. 

CHAPTER XH. 

Six new sloops of war added to the navy— Cruise of the Argus, Capt. Allen, on the 
coast of England, and Ireland — she captures twenty sail of merchantmen — Her action 
with and capture by the Pelican — Death of Capt. Allen — sketch of his life — The En- 
terprise — summary of her services. ]12. 

CHAPTER Xni. 

Attack on the British ship Narcissus, by the gun-boats in Hampton Roads — Attack on 
Craney Island — Notice of Mr. Sigourney, killed on board the Asp — Blockade of the 
United States, Macedonian, and Hornet — Capture of the American brig Viper, Lieut. 
Henley — Loss of the schooner Ferret, Lieut. Kearny — Attack on the Alligator, sail- 
ing-master Basset — she beats ofFheras»"ailants — Mr. Basset is promoted — The Alligator 
is sunk in a gale on the coast of Georgia — Loss of all but sixteen of her crew — .She is 
afterwards raised — Exploits of Capt. Kearny — Notice of his services — Gallant de- 
fence of gun-boat No. 160, by sailing-master Paine — his promotion — "Warfare in the 
Delaware — Capture of gun-boat No. 121, by the enemy's ships Junon and Martin. 116 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Launch of the Gnerriere, Independence, and Java — Capture of the Frolic, Capt. Bain- 
bridge, by the frigate Orpheus — The Adams cut down and lengthened — her cruise 
under Capt. Morris — she captures the Woodbridge — is burnt at Penobscot — Cruise of 
tlie Wasp, Capt. Blakely — she captures the Reindeer — cuts out a vessel with military 
stores — her action with and destruction of the Avon — .she captures the brigs Three 
Brothers, Bacchus, and Attalanta — her uncertain fate — Notice of Capt. Blakely — The 
Peacock, Capt. Warrington, captures the Epervier — she cruLses in the enemy's seas, 
and captures fourteen merchantmen — Capture of the Highflyer by the President, Com. 
Rodgers. 123. 

CHAPTER Xy.. 

Capt. Barney's flotilla in the Chesapeake — Skirmishes with tUte enemy — Advance of the 
enemy .upon Washington City — Defensive movements — Captains Barney and Miller 
wounded and taken prisoners — Vessels destroyed, and city taken — Attack on Balti- 
more — Death of Gen. Ross — Retreat of the enemy — Failure of the attack by water — 
Exchange of Capt.Barney — Sketch of his life. 133 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The enemy's fleet, Admiral Cochrane, appears off the month of the Mississippi — New 
Orleans — Movements of the enemj' — Commencement of hostilities — Handsome resis- 
tance of Lieut. Jones — Action on Lake Borsne — Surrender of Lieut. Jones's flotilla, 
after a gallant defence — Landing of the BritLsh troops below New Orleans, under Gen. 
Keane — Gen. Jackson marches against the enemy — Assistance of the Carolina, Capt. 
Patterson, in the defence— She blows up — Battle of New Orleans — Naval officers who 
distinguished themselves. Page 141. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

British and American force on Lake Ontario — Resources of the two countries — Attack 
on Sackett's Harbour— Lieut. Woolsey defends against .six British vessels — Appoint- 
ment of Com. Chauncey — Six schooners purchased and equipped — Forces compared 
— Upper Lakes — Attack on, and capture of the British brigs Detroit and Caledonia, 
by Lieut. Elliott — he receives a sword from Congres.s — Part of the John Adams' crew 
reach Buffalo — Com. Chauncey puts out in squadron — The Royal George retires un- 
der the batteries of the enemy— Accident on board the Pert — Captures by the Hamilton 
and Growler — De.scent upon the British ports on Niagara river — Gallant conduct 
of Lieut. Angu.s — The enemy's batteries carried, guns spiked and barracks burned — 
Marvelous escape of Messrs. Dudley, Holdup and Wragg 147. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Thenew^ ship Madison launched at Sackett's Harbour — Two ships laid dow^n at Presque 
Isle — Launch of the Lady of the Lake — Embarkation of tlie scjuadron under Com. 
Chauncey — Attack on York (Toronto)— its reduction — General Pike killed — Capture 
of the schooner Duke of Gloucester, and a vessel of twenty guns (neai-ly finished) de- 
stroyed — Attack on Fort George — Retreat of the enemy — Evacuation of the Niagara 
frontier by the British. - ... . . . . 159. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The enemy effect a landing on Horse Island — Under Sir George Prevost, they attack 
Sackett's Harbour, and are repulsed, with loss — Launch of the General Pike— Promo- 
tions in the navy — Captures by the enemy on Lake Champlain — Depredations at 
Plattsburgh — Captureof the Lady Murray, with military stores — Movements of the 
enemy on Lake Ontario — The American squadron makes a second attack on York — 
Ineffectual attempts to meet the enemy — Loss of the Hamilton and Scourge in a squall 
— Capture of the Growler and Julia— Notice of Mr. Trant. .... les. 

CHAPTER XX. 

Meeting and fruitless manoeuvring of the hostile squadrons — Launch of the Sylph at 
Sackett's Harbour — Changes and promotions — Unavailing cruise of six day.s — Escape 
of the enemy iu a running tight — Action on the Lake — Chase — The American squad- 
ron haul off" for the Niagara — Capture of six British transports — Review of the ope- 
rations. 176. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Operations on Lake Erie — Force of the enemy — The Lawrence and Niagara got over 
the bar at Presque Isle — Force of the squadron under Capt. Perry — General action, 
and capture of the whole B ritish fleet — Captains PeiTv and Elliott receive gold medals — 
Result of this victoi-y — Capt. Perry resigns the comiijand to Capt. Elliott — Promotion 
of Capt. Perrj', and appointment to the command of the Java. - . . ige. 

CHAPTER XXH. 

Operations on Lake Ontario — Three new ships laid down at Sackett's Harbour — Sick- 
ness, and state of the service — Capt. Sinclair appointed to command on the upper lakes 
— Launch of the Superior — Force of Sir James Yeo — Oswego — Descent of the British 
— Spirited though hopeless defence under Lieut. Col. Mitchell — Loss of the Growler 
— Blockade of Sackett's Harbour — Reinforcements from the sea-board — Attempt on 
Sandy Creek, with loss — Launch of the Mohawk — Lieut. Gregory captures a gun- 
boat, and destroys the enemy's cruiser, building at Presque Isle — American force — 
The British run the Charwell ashore and blow her up— Sir James Yeo is six days 
\)lockaded in Kingston — Capture of Lieut. Gregory and crew — Attempts to draw the 
anemy out — The enemy's new ship St. Lawrence— Attempt to blow her up. - 200. 



rs- 



Tl CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Operations on Lake Champlain — Attempts of the British to fill up the channel of Otter 
Creek — Launch of the schooner Eagle — Sir George Prevost advances against Platta- 
burg — Disposition of the hostile forces — Battle of Plattsburg Bay — Promotion of Capt. 
M'Donough — medal from Congress, &c. &c. — Glorious character of the battle. - 2il. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Operations on the upper Lakes — Com. Sinclair repulsed in his attempt on Michilimack- 
inac — The Ohio and Somers surprised and captured by the British — The Tigress and 
Scorpion taken by surprise — Notice of Henry Eckford — Resources and successes of 
the American and British forces on the Lakes. 225. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Cruise of the Constitution, Capt. Stewart — Capture of the man-of war Pictou — Her 
second cruise — She makes two prizes — is chased by two British vessels — engages both, 
and captures the Cyane — She pursues and captures the Levant— The Cyane, Lieut. 
Hoffman, sails for America — The Constitution and the Levant chased by a British 
squadron off Port Pra}-a — The Levant is pursued into port where she strikes to the ene- 
my — The Constitution returns home — her services and characteras a " lucky ship." 229. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Chase and capture of the President, Com. Decatur, by a British squadron off New 
York — The Hornet, Capt. Biddle, captures the Penguin — is chased ineffectually by the 
British ship Cornwallis — Capture of the cruiser Nautilus, by the Peacock — The buy- 
ing or building of two squadrons of small vessels ordered — End of the war — Character 
of the American navy. - - 935. 




COMMOBORE 



TIE[©MAS MACID)©W©I[J(&H. TU„S.M. 



NAVAL HISTORY 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 

Change in poliny of government, as respects the Barbary powers — Com. Rodgers before 
Tunis — Rank of Master Commandant restored — Promotions — Commencement of gun- 
boat system — Equipment of the Chesapeake 38, for the Mediterranean, her departure 
and action with English ship Leopard 50 — Trial of Com. Barron ; its result and 
merits. 

Peace was no sooner made with Tripoli, than Commodore Rodg- 
ers gave his attention to Tunis, with which regency there was now 
every prospect of a speedy war. In April, while blockading, the 
Constitution had captured a xebeck belonging to the Bey, which, in 
company with two prizes, was endeavouring to get into Tripoli. 
These vessels had been demanded, and the consul had been notified 
that hostilities would immediately follow a refusal. Mr. Davis, who 
was then at Tunis, informed the Bey that the captured vessels could 
not be released, and the whole matter was referred to the naval offi- 
cer in command. A correspondence ensued, and Commodore 
Rodgers felt himself, not only compelled, but, without forgetting pru- 
dence, able to tell the government of Tunis, that it was his settled 
intention to maintain the rights of his flag, and the law of nations. 

When this reply was received at Tunis, the Bey, who was not yet 
accustomed to consider America a nation of importance, and who 
appeared to think that his anger must be a source of serious appre- 
hension to her people, used the loftiest language, expressly announc- 
ing an intention to commence hostilities unless the vessels were 
instantly restored. But times had changed. The temporary con- 
trol of events had been taken out of the hands of timid politicians at 
a distance, and had passed into those of men on the spot, who desir- 
ed nothing better than to teach the barbarians justice. The Ameri- 
can merchant ships had ceased to apprehend capture, and the idea, 
which had just before been so terrible, of a rover's getting into the 
Atlantic, appears to have been forgotten. In short, a very moderate 
application of that dormant power, which, when properly applied, 
can at any time give the republic a commanding influence in the 



8 NAVAL HISTORY. [1805. 

general concerns of the world, had at least disposed of all questions 
of this nature, that were connected with states as insignificant as 
those of Barbary. The Bey of Tunis, moreover, had selected a most 
unfortunate moment for his bravado, the force under Commodore 
Rodgers being at the time nearly all in the Mediterranean. The 
gun-boats had arrived, and the ketches were hourly expected. In 
short, the menace was most inopportunely made for the Bey, since it 
was uttered to those who would not have regretted an attempt to put 
it in execution. 

The business at Tripoli was no sooner completed, therefore, than 
Commodore Rodgers sailed with thirteen vessels, gun boats included, 
and anchored in Tunis Bay on the 1st of August. As soon as the 
consul had .repaired on board and communicated the state of things 
in the regency, a council of war was called. The result was a letter 
to the Bey, demanding to know if a declaration made to the consul, 
in which he had said that the appearance of the American squadron 
off his port would be considered as the commencement of hostilities, 
was to be taken literalJy or not. In this letter the Bey was given to 
understand, in the plainest manner, that hostilities would commence 
on the part of the Americans, within thirty-six houi'S, did he decline 
answering, or neglect the application. 

It may be useful to the reader, if we pause a moment, and review 
the changes that four short years had produced in the tone of the 
American agents. In 1801, after capturing a Tripolitan rover, Com- 
modore Dale had been compelled to send her into her own port, 
through the doubts and misgivings of a feeble and temporising pol- 
icy at home. The administration had used the cry of economy as a 
means of defeating its adversaries, and, as is too often the case, this 
appeal had been made without a just discrimination between that 
liberal saving, which anticipates future waste by present expenditure, 
and that which can be no better described than by the homely axiom 
of " penny wise and pound foolish." But the force of things, always 
a salutary corrective of the errors of men, had compelled an arma- 
ment, and no better illustration of the expediency of being prepared 
for war, need be required than is to be found in the facts of this case. 

The Bey, accustomed to regard the Americans as tributaries, had 
been seeking a cause for war, when he was suddenly met by this high 
tone on the part of those whom he had hitherto found so much dis- 
posed to temporise. At first he appeared to place no faith in the 
demonstration, and the required answer was not immediately sent. 
Commodore Rodgers, in consequence, directed Captain Decatur to 
land, to demand an audience of the Bey, and to obtain an unequivo- 
cal solution of the question of peace or war. 

It is probable that the Bey regarded this mission as one of a doubt- 
ful nature, also, for he refused to receive Captain Decatur in the 
character in which he had been sent. That spirited officer, little 
accustomed to temporising, declined being admitted in any other. 
As soon as the intentions of both parties had been explained. Cap- 
tain Decatur returned on board, when " the royal breast" of the Bey 
*' appeared to be panic struck." A letter was sent to the commo- 



1805.] NAVAL HISTORY. 



dore, signed by the pacha himself, in which he expressed a desire to 
treat, and using the most pacific language. Shortly after he an- 
nounced a wish to send a minister to Washington. Tliis moderated 
tone put an end to the threatened hostilities, and after a negotiation 
that lasted nearly a month, the aftair was arranged with the regency, 
to the satisfaction of one of the parties at least. The xebeck and 
her prizes were not given up. In September, a Tunisian ambassa- 
dor embarked in the Congress 38, Captain Decatur, and in due time 
he was landed at Washington. 

Commodore Rodgers remained in Tunis Bay more than a month, 
literally negotiating under the muzzles of his guns, and the result 
proved the wisdom of the course he had taken. The navy, the ablest 
of all negotiators in such matters, had completely reversed the an- 
cient order of things, for, instead of an American agent's being com- 
pelled to solicit the restoration of prizes, illegally taken, in Africa, an 
African agent was now soliciting the restoration of prizes legally 
captured in America. At a later day, the xebeck and her consorts 
were given up, as of no moment ; but when the Tunisian minister 
added a demand for tribute, agreeably to former usage, he met with 
an explicit denial. After a short residence, he returned to his master 
with the latter answer, but the Bey did not see fif'to take any steps 
in consequence. The impression made by the attacks on Tripoli, 
and of the appearance of the American squadron before his own 
town, would seem to have been lasting. 

After the settlement of the dispute with Tunis, the vessels in the 
Mediterranean were gradually reduced, though it was still deemed 
necessary to keep a small squadron in that sea. The government 
also became better apprised of the natui-e of the force that was 
required, in carrying on a war with the Barbary states, and several 
new vessels were put into the water about this time, among which 
were two regularly constructed bombards, the Etna and the»Vesu- 
vius. Two sloops of war, of the most approved models, were also 
built, and became active cruisers on the peace establishment. These 
vessels were the Wasp 18, and the Hornet 18, the former beinof a 
ship and the latter a brig. These two beautiful and efficient sloops 
had no gun-decks, poops, or top-gallant forecastles, but Avere con- 
structed after the designs of the French, and they had armaments of 
IG thirty-two pound carronades, and 2 long twelves each. 

In April, 1806, a law was passed which authorised the President 
to employ as many of the public vessels as he might deem necessary, 
but limiting the number of the officers and seamen. By this act the 
list of the captains was increased to thirteen, that of the masters and 
commanders to eight, and that of the lieutenants to seventy-two. 
The rank of masters and commanders was re-established in 1804, 
as has been already shown, and, of the thirty-six lieutenants retained 
in 1801, fifteen had been promoted, thirteen had resigned, one had 
died on service, one had been drowned on service, one had been 
killed in battle, one had been killed in a duel, one had beeoj dis- 
missed, and three still remained on' the list of lieutenants. Of those 



10 NAVAL HISTORY. [1805. 

that had been promoted, one* had resigned, and onet had been killed 
in battle. It follows, that, in order to complete the new list to seventy- 
two, sixty-nine midshipmen were raised to the rank of lieutenants. 

The list of captains, under the new law, and after the changes 
just named, consisted of the following gentlemen, viz: 

1 Samuel Nicholson, 8 Hugh G. Campbell, 

2 Alexander Murray, 9 Stephen Decatur, 

3 Samuel Barron, 10 Thomas Tingey, 

4 John Rodgers, 11 Charles Stewart, 

5 Edward Preble, 12 Isaac Hull, 

6 James Barron, 13 John Shaw, 

7 William Bainbridge, 14 Isaac Chauncey. 

The list of masters and commanders at the same period, were as 
follows, viz: 

1 John Smith, 5 David Porter, 

2 George Cox, 6 John Cassin, 

3 John II. Dent, 7 Samuel Evans, 

4 Thomas Ribinson, 8 Charles Gordon. 

The condition of the navy may be said to have been negative at 
the period of which we are now writing, for while all who reflected 
seriously on the subject, felt the necessity of greatly increasing this 
branch of the national defence, nothing efficient was attempted, or, 
apparently contemplated. Ships of the line, without which it would 
be impossible to prevent any of even the secondary maritime states 
of Europe from blockading the ports of the country, were novv 
scarcely mentioned, and the materials that had been collected for 
that object, in 1800, were rapidly disappearing for the purposes of re- 
pairs and re-constructions. It is, indeed, difficult to imagine a policy 
as short-sighted and feeble, as that pursued by Congress at this partic- 
ular juncture. With political relations that were never free from the 
appearances of hostilities, a trade that covered all the seas of the 
known world, and an experience that was replete with lessons on the 
necessity of repelling outrages by force, this great interest was treated 
with a neglect that approached fatuity. To add to this oversight, 
and to increase the despondency of the service, as well as of all those 
whose views extended to the future necessities of the country, the 
government appears to have adopted a policy, in connexion with' the 
defence of the harbours, bays, and sounds of the coast, that was 
singularly adapted to breaking down the high tone that the navy had 
acquired in its recent experience. This plan, which has been gen- 
erally known as the " gun-boat policy," originated as far back as the 
year 1803, though it did not become of sufficient moment to be par- 
ticularly noticed until the time at which we are now arrived, in the 
regular order of events. 

In February, 1803, the relations of the country with Spain, in con- 
sequence of a denial of a place of deposit at New Orleans, had an 
aspect so threatening, that a law was passed appropriating $50,000 

* Sterrett. t Somers. 



1806.] NAVAL HISTORY. 11 

for the construction of gun-boats. In consequence of the acquisition 
of Louisiana, by treaty, however, this money was never used, 
ahhough steps had been taken to procure models of the gun-boats of 
Spain and Naples, nations whose naval histories, for the previous 
century, offered iDut questionable examples for the imitation of a 
people as singularly maritime as that of America. 

In 1804, gun-boats were obtained in Naples to cannonade Tripoli, 
the position of the rocks before that town admitting of their use under 
circumstances of advantage. The Neapolitan boats proving defec- 
tive a few were built at home, and this species of vessel first appeared 
afloat in 1805. The hardy manner in which they were carried across 
the ocean and returned, has already been mentioned. The law 
under which these boats had been built, contemplated their future 
use, as an auxiliary means of permanent harbour defence. 

Motives had been gradually accumulating, however, to induce the 
executive to extend this policy. The English had set up new 
doctrines on the subject of blockades and the colonial trade, in oppo- 
sition to doctrines of France, that were equally opposed to common 
sense, obvious justice, and usage ; and, as the former possessed a 
numerous and active marine, these conflicting practices resulted in a 
species of indirect and half-way blockade of the entire American 
coast. English cruisers were constantly hovering around the most 
frequented of the ports of the country, while privateers under French 
commissions, were occasionally guilty of the grossest excesses. In 
short, we have now reached the commencement oCthat extraordinary 
state of things, when each of the great European belligerents appear- 
ed to think that an act of aggression by its enemy on a neutral, was 
an ample justification for retaliating on the unoffending and suftering 
party. 

The gun-boats, at first, were well received in the service, since it gave 
enterprising young officers commands ; and the vessels originally 
constructed, were of an equipment, size and force, which in a meas- 
ure, removed the objections that young sea-ofiicers would be apt to 
urge against serving in them. At the close of the year 1806, the 
President announced to Congress that the gun-boats already author- 
ised by a law of April of the same year, 50 in number, were so far 
advanced as to put it in the power of the government to employ them 
all, the succeeding season, and the message contained a recommen- 
dation to extend the system. 

An event soon occurred that not only stimulated this policy, but 
which induced the govermnent to resort to new measures to protect 
the country, some of which were as questionable, as they were novel. 
A few ships had been kept in the Mediterranean, as stated, and it is 
worthy of being noted, that, with a commerce that, in 1807, employ- 
ed 1,300,000 tons of shipping, this was the only foreign station on 
which an American cruiser Avas ever seen ! Neither was there any 
proper home squadron, notwithstanding the constant complaints that 
were made of the wrongs inflicted by English and French cruisers, 
particularly the former, at the very mouths of the harbours of the 
country. 



12 NAVAL HISTORY. [1806. 

On the 25th of April, 180G, the British ship Leander 50, Captain 
Whitby, in endeavouring to cut off a ^mall coaster, that was running 
for Sandy Hook, fired a shot into her, which killed one of her peo- 
ple ; and, as this outrage occurred quite near the shore, it excited a 
strong feeling of indignai.on, in a portion of the country, at least. 
But, unfortunately, party spirit had, at that period, taken the worst, 
most dangerous, and least creditable form, in which it can exist in a 
free country. By neglecting to place the republic in an attitude to 
command respect, the government had unavoidably been reduced to 
appeal to arguments and principles, in those cases in which an appeal 
to force is the only preservative of national rights, and, in so doing, 
it opened the door to the admission of sophisms, counter-arguments 
and discussions, that, in the end, effectually arrayed one half of the 
coinmunity against the other, and this too, on matters in which 
foreign nations were the real parties on one side, and the common 
country on the other. In a word, the great mistake was made of 
admitting of controversy concerning interests that all wise govern- 
ments hold to be beyond dispute. There will presently be occasion 
to advert to some of the consequences of this extraordinary state of 
things, that are more peculiarly connected Avith our subject. 

While the feelings, policy, and preparations of the United States 
were in the condition just mentioned, the Chesapeake 38, was order- 
ed to be put in commission, with a view of sending her to the Medi- 
terranean, as the relief-ship, the time of the people of the Constitu- 
tion 44, the flag-ship on that station, being nearly up. Captain 
Charles Gordon, the youngest master-commandant on the list, was 
attached to the Chesapeake as her captain, and Captain James Bar- 
ron was selected to hoist a broad pennant in her, as connmander of 
the squadron. Both these oflicers enjoyed high characters in the 
service; Commodore Barron, in particular, being deemed one of the 
most ingenious and ready seamen that America had ever produced. 

The Chesapeake was lying at the navy yard Washington, and was 
put in commission early in 1807. By an order of tlie date of Feb- 
ruary 22d of that year. Captain Gordon was first attached, but the 
specific orders to Commodore Barron do not appear to have been 
given until May the 15th. The ship remained at Washington, taking 
in her masts and stores, and receiving officers and men, until the 
close of the spring. During this time the English minister informed 
the government that three deserters from his B. M. ship Melampus, 
had enlisted among the crew of the Chesapeake, and he requested 
that they might be given up. Although the right to demand desert- 
ers is not recognised by the laws of nations, there is usually a dispo- 
sition between friendly governments to aid each other in securing 
these delinquents, especially when it can be done under circumstan- 
ces that produce no direct injury, and the matter was referred to 
Commodore Barron, for investigation, by the navy department. 
The inquiry appears to have been made in a proper temper, and 
with a sincere wish to dismiss the men, should they actually prove to 
be what was represented, though it might be questioned whether the 
President himself legally possessed any power to give them up to 



1807.] NAVAL HISTORY. 13 

their own officers. Commodore Barron directed Captain Gordon to 
inquire into the matter with care, and to make his report. It was 
ascertained that the three meir were actually deserters from the ship 
named, but they all claimed to be impressed Americans, who had 
availed themselves of the first opportunity that offered on landing in 
their native country, to make their escape from illegal and unjust 
detention. Oneof these men was said to be a native of the Eastern 
Shore, apart of the country in which Captain Gordon was born, and 
that officer, after a careful examination, appears to have been satisfied 
with the truth of his account. Another was a coloured man, and 
there was hardly a doubt of the truth of his allegations ; while the 
case of the third seaman, though in part established, was not entirely 
clear. Under the circumstances, however, a seaman found in the 
country, and demanding the protection of its laws as a native, could 
not be given up to a service that was known constantly to violate the 
rights of individuals, on the naked demand of that service, and in the 
absence of all affirmative proof of its being in the right. The Eng- 
lish minister received the report, and he appears to have been satis- 
fied, as no more was said on the subject. 

Although Captain Gordon was attached to the Chesapeake in 
February, he does not appear to have actually taken the command 
of the ship until the 1st of May, as she was still in the hands of the 
mechanics. About the beginning of June she sailed from Washing- 
ton for Norfolk. At this time, there were but twelve guns on board ; 
and, as it is customary for all vessels of war to fire a salute in passing 
Mount Vernon, it was discovered, on that occasion, that some of the 
equipments of the guns were imperfect. Orders were issued by Cap- 
tain Gordon in consequence, though the circumstance probably es- 
cited less attention than would otherwise have been the case, ou 
account of the unfinished state of the vessel. The Chesapeake arriv- 
ed in Hampton Roads on the 4th of June, and on the Gth, Commo- 
dore Barron paid her a short visit. 

Between the Gth of June and tiie 19th, the remainder of the guns 
and stores were received on board the Chesapeake, her crew was 
completed to about 375 souls, and, on the latter day. Captain Gor- 
don reported her to Commodore Barron, as ready for sea. Up to the 
6th of June, the people had not even been quartered at all, and be- 
tween that day and the time of sailing, they had been at quarters but 
three times ; on neither of which occasions were the guns exercised. 

About 8 A. M., June 22d, 1S07, the Chesapeake 38, Captain Gor- 
don, bearing the broad pennant of Commodore Barron, got under 
way, from Hampton Roads, bound to the Mediterranean. At that 
early day, the armament of the ship consisted of 28 eighteen-pound- 
erson her gun-deck, and of 12 carronades above, making a total of 
40 guns. She was a roomy and convenient vessel, but was thought 
to be weak for her dimensions, and her sading was remarkable 
neither way. 

A squadron of British ships of war, varying constantly in numbers 
and vessels, had been watching some French frigates that lay at 
Annapolis, several months ; and it was their practice to lie in Lynn- 

VOL. II. 1 



14 NAVAL HISTORY. [1807. 

haven, or, occasionally, to cruise in the offing. On the 2181 of June, 
this squadron had consisted of three vessels, one of which was the 
Bellona 74, and another the Melampus 38, the ship from which the 
three seamen, ah'eady mentioned, had deserted. On the evening of 
the same day, a fourth vessel, which was afterwards ascertained to 
be the Leopard 59, Captain Humphreys, came in and anchored. 
The Leopard was a small two-decker, had a lower-deck battery of 
twenty-fours, and is said to have mounted 56 guns. When the 
Chesapeake weighed, up at Hampton Roads, the Leopard lifted her 
anchor, and preceded the American frigate to sea by several miles. 
The wind was light, at northwest ; and as the Leopard got an offing, 
she disappeared behind Cape Henry. 

A little after 12 o'clock, the Chesapeake was up with the cape, 
when the wind shifted to the southward and eastward. As she 
opened the offing, the Leopard was seen a few miles distant to wind- 
Avard, heading to the eastward, with apparently very little air. She 
soon took the new wind, however, when both ships made stretches 
to get free of the land, there being a good working breeze and per- 
fectly smooth water. The Leopard tacked with the Chesapeake, 
though the latter ship appears to have closed with her, the distance 
between the two vessels gradually lessening. By some accounts the 
English ship shortened sail in order to allow this. Up to this mo- 
ment, however, it is the better opinion, thatthere wasnothingunusual, 
or suspicious, in her movements. The British cruisers were in the 
habit of standing out in this manner, and the Leopard obtained the 
weather gage altogether by the shift of wind. 

About 3 o'clock, both vessels having an offing of some six or eight 
miles, the Chesapeake tacked to the eastward again, and the Leopard, 
then about a mile to windward, wore round and came down upon 
her weatherquarter, when she hailed, informing Commodore Barron 
that she had despatches for him. Li all this there was nothing 
unusual, despatches having been put on board the Wasp 18, Captain 
Smith, from the Bellona 74, a few days previously, the American 
ship being bound to Europe. Commodore Barron answered that he 
would heave to, and receive a boat. Both vessels now came to, the 
Chesapeake by laying her main-topsail to the mast, while the accounts 
appear uncertain, whether the Leopard backed her forward or her 
after sails. At this time, it was observed by some of the officers on 
board the Chesapeake, however, that the English ship had her lower 
ports triced up, and the tompions out of her guns. It does not 
appear that the latter fact, the only one of moment, was reported to 
either Captain Gordon or Commodoi-e Barron. 

In a few minutes, a boat from the Leopard came alongside of the 
Chesapeake, and her officer was shown into the cabin, where he was 
received by Commodore Barron. Here the English lieutenant pro- 
duced an order, signed by Vice-Admiral Berkeley, dated Halifax, 
June 1st, and addressed to all the captains of the ships under his 
command, directing them, should they fall in with the Chesapeake, 
out of the waters of the United States, and at sea, to show her com- 
mander tliis order, to " require to search for deserters," and, " to pro- 



1807.] NAVAL HISTORY. • 15 

ceed and search for the same,"* offering at the same time, to allow 
of a similar search on board their own vessels. Accompanyinir this 
order, was a note from the commander of the Leopard, addressed to 
the commander of the Chesapeake, referring to the order of the vice- 
admiral, and expressing a hope " that every circumstance respecting 
them (the deserters) may be adjusted in a manner that the harmony 
subsisting between the two countries may remain undisturbed." To 
this note. Commodore Barron returned an answer, stating that he 
knew of no such deserters as described. He added, that his recruit- 
ing officers had been particularly instructed by the government, not 
to enter any deserters from the English ships, and that his orders 
would not allow him to suffer his people to be mustered by any offi- 
cer but their own. 

By referring to this correspondence, which will be found in the 
appendix, it will be seen that neither the order of Vice-Admiral 
Berkeley, the note of Captain Humphreys, nor the answer of Com- 
modore Barron, was ()erfectly explicit on the important points, of 
whether force would be used, if the alleged deserters were not given 
up, or whether they would be refused, could it be shown, by any 
other means than that of being mus'tered by foreign officers, that the 
men required were among the Chesapeake's crew. In a word, the 
order and note were vague and general; and the answer, as far as it 
went, the most direct document of the three, appears to have been 
framed in a similar spirit. The British officer was ordered to " re- 
quire" of the captain of the Chesapeake, " to search his ship for 
deserters," &c., and " to proceed and search for the same," &e. 
Nothing is said of compeUing a search ; and though the term " re- 
quire" was a strong one, the whole phraseology of the order was such 
as might very well raise doubts, under the peculiar circumstances, 
how far a party, who made professions of a desire to preserve the 
harmony of the two nations, might feel disposed to violate public 
law, in order to enforce its object. The note of Captain Humphreys 
was just as explicit, and just as vague as the order, being a mere echo 
of its spirit. Commodore Barron very clearly refused to permit a 
British officer to search for a deserter, while he did not touch the 
general principle, or what he might do, could it be shown by less 
objectionable means, that there was a British deserter, of the sort 
mentioned in the order, on board the Chesapeake, t and the demand 
on the part of the English officers to search in person, was abandoned. 
Had there even existed a clause in the treaty between England and 
America, rendering it obligatory on the two nations to deliver up each 
other's deserters, the requisition of Vice-Admiral Berkeley, taken as 
an order to search in person, would have so far exceeded the probable 
construction of reason, as to justify an officer in supposing that noth- 
ing beyond a little well-managed intimidation was intended, since 
nations do not usually permit their treaties to be enforced by any 

*See note A, end of volume, 
t It woulil have been illegal for Commodore Barron to give np a man regularly enter- 
ed among his crew, as a deserter. He might have returned a deserter that came on 
board his ship, but nothing more. 



16 NAVAL HISTORY. [1807. 



but their own agents. While there was something very equivocal, 
beyond doubt, in the whole procedure of the British, it was so high- 
handed a measure to commence a demand for deserters, by insisting 
on a right to search a foreign vessel of war in person for them, that it 
would be very difficult to believe any design to enforce a demand so 
utterly out of the regular course of things, could be seriously enter- 
tained. It ought to be added, that the deserters alluded to in the 
order of Vice-Admiral Berkeley, were not those from the Melampus, 
already spoken of, but men from other ships, who were supposed to 
have entered on board the Chesapeake at a much later day.* 

The English lieutenant was on board the Chesapeake some time ; 
the accounts of the length of his visit varying from 15 to 45 minutes. 
It is probable he was fully half an hour in the cabin. His stay 
appears to have been long enough to excite uneasiness on board his 
own ship, for, while Commodore Barron was deliberating on the 
course he ought to pursue, information was sent below that a signal 
was flying on board the Leopard, which her officer immediately 
declared to be an order for the return of the boat. Soon after this 
signal was shown, the answer of Commodore Barron was delivered. 

Commodore Barron now sent for Captain Gordon, and told him 
to get the gun-deck clear, a duty that had been commenced an hour 
or two before, without reference to the Leopard. He then Avent on 
deck. Soon after the Ens^lish officer had passed out of the ship into 
his own boat, by the larboard, or lee-gangway, Commodore Barron 
appeared in the starboard, or weather-gangway, to examine the 
Leopard. Here it would seem that the latter was forcibly struck 
with the appearance of preparation on board the English ship, and 
the idea that recourse might be had to force began to impress him 
seriously. He issued an order to Captain Gordon, to hasten the 
work on the gun-deck, and to go to quarters. In consequence of 
the latter order, a i^ew taps were beaten on the drum, but that instru- 
ment was stopped by directions of Commodore Barron, and instruc- 
tions were given to get the people to their quarters with as little noise 
and parade as possible, in order to gain time, if the Leopard really 
meditated hostilities. 

It is not easy to imagine a vessel of war in a more unfortunate situ- 
tion, than that of the Chesapeake at this particular moment. With 
a ship of superior force within pistol-shot, on her weather quarter 
her guns trained, matches burning, people drilled, and every thing 
ready to commence a heavy fire, while she herself was littered and 
lumbered, with a crew that had not yet exercised her guns, and which 
had been only three times even mustered at their quarters. The 
business of coiling away her cables, which had lain on the gun-deck 
until after 2 o'clock, was still going on, while the cabin bulk-head, 
cabin furniture, and some temporary pantries were all standing aft. 

* It is said tliat one man in particular who bad run from the Halifax sloop of war, had 
been seen by bis old captain in Norfolk, and that he had insulted the latter in the street. 
This was the person the Eng:lish officers were the most anxious to obtain. It docs not 
appear, however, that any men, but those from the Melampus, had ever been formally 
demanded of the proper authorities, though something may have passed on the subject 
between subordinates. 



1807.] NAVAL HISTORY. 17 

A good deal of tlie baggage of the passengei's in the ship was also on 
the gun-deck. It would seem, however, that some of the lieutenants 
had regarded the movements of the Leopard with distrust from the 
beguuiiiig ; and the vessel being particularly well officered, these 
gentlemen soon made an active commencement towards getting the 
ship clear. The guns were all loaded and shotted, but on examina- 
tion, it was found that there was a dcticiency in rammers, wads, 
matches, gun-locks, and powder-horns. While things were in this 
awkwanl coudi.ion, Conunodore Barron continued in the gangway 
examining the Leopard. The boat of the latter was about five 
minutes in pulling back to that vessel, and as soon as the people were 
out of her, she vvas dropi)ed astern, where most of her boats were 
towing, and the English ship hailed. Commodore Barron answered 
that he did not understand the hail, when the Leopard fired a shot 
ahead of the Chesapeake. In a i'ew seconds this shot was followed 
by an entire broadside. By this discharge, in addition to other 
injuries done the ship. Commodore Barron, who continued in the 
gangway, and his aid, Mr. Broom, were wounded. The Leopard 
was now hailed, and some answer was returned, but the noise and 
confusion rendered all attempts at a communication in this mode 
useless. A boat was shortly after ordered to be lowered, to be sent 
to the Leopard, but it did not proceed. 

Every exertion was making all the while, to get the batteries ready, 
and with the exception of the forward gun below, the port of which 
was still down on account of the anchor, it appears that one broad- 
side might have been fired, had not the means of discharging the 
guns been absolutely wanting. For some time, there was no priming 
powder, and when an insufficient quantity did finally arrive, there 
were no matches, locks, or loggerheads. Some of the latter were 
brouolit from the galley, however, and they were applied to the prim- 
ing, but were yet too ccdd to be of use. In the mean while, the 
Leopard, in an excellent position, and favoured by smooth water, 
was deliberately pouring in her whole fire upon an unresisting ship. 
This state of things lasted from twelve to eighteen minutes, when 
Commodore Barron, having repeatedly desired that one gun at least, 
might be discharged, ordered the colours to be hauled down. Just 
as the ensign reached the taffrail, one gun was fired from the second 
division of the ship.* 

Tile Chesapeake immediately sent a boat on board the Leopard, 
to say that the ship was at the disposal of the English captain, when 
the latter directed his officers to muster the American crew. The 
tliree men claimed to be deserters from the Melampus, and one that 
had run from the Halifax sloop of war, were carried away. Com- 
modore Barron now sent another note to Captain Humphreys to 
state his readiness to give up his ship ; but the latter declining to take 
charire of her, a council of the officers was called, and the Chesa- 
peake returned to Hampton Roads the same evening. 

" This arun was discharged by means of a coal brought from the galley, which was 
applied by Lieiiteuant Allen, the officer of the division, with his fingers, after an unsuc- 
cessful attempt to make use of a loggerhead. 



18 NAVAL HISTORY. [1807. 

In this aflair, the Leopard, of course, suffered very little. The 
single shot that was fired, it is understood hulled her, but no person 
was injured. Not so with the Chesapeake, although the injuries she 
sustained, were probably less than might have been expected. The 
accounts of tlie duration of the firing, vary from seven to twenty 
minutes, though the majority of opinions phjce it at about twelve 
But three men were killed on the spot ; eight were badly, and ten 
were slightly wounded ; making a total of twenty-one casuahies 
The Leopard appears to have thrown the weigiit of her grape int'^ 
the lower sails, the courses and fore-to])mast stay-sail having beer 
riddled with that description of shot. Twenty-one round shot struck 
the hull. As it is known that the first broadside, a\ hen vessels are 
near and in smooth water, usually does as much injury as several of 
the succeeding, and as all the firing of the Leopard, in one sense a* 
least, may be said to have possessed this advantage, the execution she 
did cannot be considered as any thing remarkable. All three of the 
lower masts of the American frigate were injured, it is true, and agood 
deal of rigging was cut; still the impression left by the occurrence 
went to convince the American service, that English fire was not so 
formidable as ti"adition and rumour had made it. 

The attack on the Chesapeake, and its results, created a strong 
and universal sensation in America. At first, as ever happens while 
natural feeling and national sentiment are uninfluenced by calcula- 
tions of policy, there was blit one voice of indignation and resent- 
ment, though, in a short time, the fiend of party lifted his head, and 
persons were not wanting who presumed to justify the course taken 
by the English vice-admiral. Notwithstanding these exceptions, the 
general effect was certainly very adverse to the British cause in 
America, and the injury was not fairly forgotten, until it had been 
effaced from the public mind by many subsequent victories. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that wounded national feeling 
eagerly sought for some palliative, and, as usually ha])pens in such 
cases, the commanding officer of the Chesapeake soon became the 
subject of those inconsiderate and unjust comments, which ever 
accompany popular clamour, when the common self-esteem is les- 
sened. A court of inquiry sat, as a matter of course, and the results 
were courts-martial on Commodore Barron, Captain Gordon, Cap- 
tain Hall, the commanding marine officer on board, and the gunner. 

The charges i)roduced against Commodore Barron were four, 
viz: 1st. "For negligently perfiirming the duty assigned him." 
Under this charge- the specifications alleged that he had not sutfi- 
ciently visited and examined the ship, previously to sailing. 2d. 
*' For neglecting, on the probability of an enifagement, to clear his 
ship for action." There were six specifications under this charge, 
all tending to the same point. 3d. " Failing to encotjrage, in his 
own person, his inferior officers and men to fight courageously." 
Ten specifications were made under this charge, all, more or less, 
implicating the military judgment and personal courage of the ac- 
cused. 4th. " For not doing his utmost to take or destroy the 



1807.] NAVAL HISTORY. 19 

Leopard, which vessel it was his duty to encounter." Five specifi- 
cations sup])orted this charge. 

Tliere is little question that the jjovernment, nation, and we might 
ahiiost add, the navy, fek a predisposition to condemn Commodore 
Barron, previously to the trial, tor it is the natural and most common 
refuge of masses of men, to seek a victim whenever they find them- 
selves in any manner im[)licated in their characters or conduct. 
The court was well composed, and its hearing was solemn and digni- 
fied. It has been said that this tribunal first set the example of a 
rigid adherence to principles, forms, and precepts in its proceedings, 
and it has always been spoken of with respect for its impartiality and 
motives. Of the four charges made. Commodore Barron was en- 
tirely acquitted of the first, tliird, and fourth, and found guilty under 
the second. Several of the specifications of the other charges were 
found to be true, but the court decided that they did not involve the 
guilt implied in the accusations. It was the final decision, that Com- 
modore Barron was guilty of the 5th and Gth specifications of the 
2d charge, which were in the following words : — '• 5th. In that, the 
said James Barron did receive from the commanding officer of the 
Leopard, a communication clearly intimating, that if certain men 
were not delivered up to him, he should proceed to use force, and 
still, the said James Barron neglected to clear his ship for action." 
Gth. " In that, the said James Barron did verily believe from the 
communication he received from the commanding officer of the said 
ship Leopard, that the said ship would fire upon the said frigate Ches- 
apeake, or take by force, if they could not be obtained by other 
means, any British deserters that could be found on board the Ches- 
apeake, and still the said James Barron neglected to clear his ship 
for action." On these two specifications, under the charge of neg- 
lect of duty, Commodore Barron was sentenced to be suspended for 
five years, without pay or emoluments. 

It may be questioned if the order of Vice-Admiral Berkeley and 
the note of Captain Humphreys will be thought, by all persons, to 
be " commuiucations clearly intimating" an intention to resort to 
force, under the peculiar circumstances of the case. The first would 
seem to have been framed witli great art, expressing nothing very 
clearly, and coupled with the fact of its containing instructions to 
show the order itself to the American captain, it might very well be 
supposed to have been no more than an expedient ingeniously de- 
vised to obtain the ends of the British officers by intimidation. 
Could the Chesapeake have been prepared for action, for instance, 
and the English lieutenant detained, and Commodore Barron, 
assuming that the order of Admiral Berkeley was an act of hostility, 
as, in effect, was assumed by the court, attacked and subdued the 
Leopard, the world would probably have heard the complaints of 
England for a violation of good faith, under the plea that to "require 
to search his ship for deserters," with an offer to submit to a similar 
search on board the British ship, was not necessarily an act of hos- 
tility, and that the additional order " to proceed and search for the 



20 NAVAL HISTORY. [1807. 

same," was merely given under the supposition that the demand 
contained in the requisition would have been amicably granted. 

If the testimony fully sustained the 6th specification, there can be 
no doubt that Commodore Barron was guilty of culpable neglect, 
but it may be thought tliat this point, also, admits of some qualifica- 
tion. It appears, by the finding of the court, that it made up its de- 
cision on this specification from two facts, viz. expressions in a note 
accompanying the official report made of the aflair by Commodore 
Barron to the navy department, and expressions he had used in con- 
versation prior to the attack. As regards the first. Commodore Bar- 
ron tells the secretary, that the purport of Vice-Admiral Berkeley's 
order was to take the men by force, in the event of no other means 
offering, a statement that is certainly not borne out by the order 
itself, as it has since been given to the world. On his trial. Commo- 
dore Barron explains this discrepancy between the fact and bis own 
statement, and which appears to have militated so much against his 
own interests, by saying that he wrote the note after the aft'air had 
occurred, inider much bodily suffering from wounds, and great men- 
tal agitation, and that he must have confounded the impressions left 
by events, with opinions formed previously to their occurrence. On 
examining this part of the subject, it will be seen that the answer is 
not without much force. 

The second fact rests on the testimony of Captain Gordon, who 
informed the court that, Avhile at dinner, an hour or two before the 
Leopard closed. Commodore Barron said he distrusted her move- 
ments. As respects verbal declarations, they are always to be taken 
with great allowances, the ordinary language of men being so much 
qualified by the circumstances under which it is uttered, and tliey 
have always been held questionable evidence, except when used in 
cases of gravity and solemnity. A remark of this nature may have 
been made without suspecting hostilities, since a demand for deser- 
ters, by no means would infer an intention to resort to force, on 
receiving a denial. 

In his defence, Commodore Barron says that he expected another 
communication from Captain Humphreys, whicli would have allowed 
ample time to clear the ship for action, had she been in a condition 
to engage at all. In short, after carefully reviewing the testimony, 
and the findiiigof the court, most persons will be led to believe that 
Commodore Ban-on was punished to the fullest extent of his oflence, 
and, whatever may be the dictations of a rigid military code, and the 
exactions of stern military principles, that he was the victim of cir- 
cumstances, rather than of any unpardonable error of his own. It 
would have been safer, wiser, and more in conformity with naval 
rules, to have gone to quarters as the ships approached each other; 
and, as soon as the letter of Captain Humphrey's was received, it 
would seem that what before was only expedient became imperative ; 
but the case admits of so much extenuation, that general rules will 
hardly apply to it. It is highly satisfactory to be able to add, that a 
cotnt composed of men who, in so many instances, have shown their 
own devotion to the honour of the flag, closed its finding on the sub- 



1807.] NAVAL HISTORY. 21 

ject of the personal conduct of the accused, in the followino- im- 
pressive language: — " No transposition of the specifications, or any 
other modification of the charges themselves, would alter the opinion 
of the court as to the firmness and courage of the accused. The 
evidence on this point is clear and satisfactoiy." 

The trial of Captain Gordon resulted in his being found guilty of 
negligently performing his duty, in connexion with some triflinoc 
informalities in the gunner's reports, and in those of the marine offi- 
cer. He was sentenced to be privately reprimanded. 

Captain Hall, of the marines, fared still better, his oftence being 
purely technical; and in sentencing him to be also privately repri- 
manded, the court added that if it could have discovered a lighter 
punishment, it would have inflicted it. 

The gunner was cashiered, chiefly because he had neglected to fill 
a sufficient number of the priming horns, notwithstanding a direct 
order had been given to that effect, which he had rejjorted executed. 

It is not easy to discover any defects in the three last decisions of 
the court, which would seem to have been justified by the testimony, 
although it was clearly established by the evidence of nearly all the 
sea-officers examined, that had they succeeded in firing the guns that 
were loaded, the means were wanting to discharge a second broadside. 

The revelations made by these courts-martial, contain matter for 
grave reflection ; and it may well be questioned, if any impartial 
person, who coolly examines the whole subject, will not arrive at the 
conclusion, that the real delinquents were never put on their trial. 
It must be remembered that in the year 1807, America j)ossessed 
the experience of three naval wars ; that bv the force of things, she 
had created a corps of officers, which, small as it was, had no supe- 
rior, in any other country ; that her artisans put on the ocean as fine 
vessels of their classes as floated, and that the conviction of the neces- 
sity of an efficient marine was deep and general. In the fiice of all 
these striking facts, it is seen that four months were required to fit a 
single frijjate for sea, at a yard immediately under the eyes of Con- 
gress, and this too at a moment when there existed a pressing 
necessity for hastening the preparations.* Under such circumstan- 
ces, we find that this frigate did not receive all her guns until a few 
days before she sailed ; that her crew was coming on board to tlie 
latest hour ; that her people had been quartered but three days before 
the ship went to sea, and that the responsible officer was acquitted 
of neglect, on the plea of the imperious necessity under which he had 
acted, although it was admitted that when a foreign vessel of war 
came alongside of his ship to otFer, not only an indignity to his flag, 
but direct violence to his men, his people had never been exercised 
at their guns. A public cruiser had been sent out in face of those, 
who, armed at all points, sought her destruction, as unceremoniously, 
hurriedly, and negliafently, as if her employment was merely that of 
a passenger-hoy. When it was found that the nation had been dis- 

*The Chesapeake was destined to relieve the Constitution ; and the crow of the latter 
ship was actually in a state of mutiny, if they can he called mutineers who were illegally 
detained, because their times were up, and they were entitled to their discharges. 



22 NAVAL HISTORY. [1807. 

graced, so unsound was the state of popular feeling-, that the real 
delinquents were overlooked, while their victims became the object 
of popular censure. 

It is an axiom, as true as it is venerable, that a " divided power be- 
comes an irresponsible power," Such, in fact, is the nature of the 
authority wielded by the national legislature, the neglect of which, 
in the way of military and naval preparations, would long since have 
ruined most of the statesmen of the country, had they been guilty of 
the sameomissions, as individuals, that they had sanctioned as bodies 
of men. We may lament the infatuation, condemn the selfishness, 
and denounce the abandonment of duty, which impel ambitious pol- 
iticians to convert the legislative halls into arenas for political contro- 
versies that ought never to degrade their deliberations, or impair the 
sanctity of their oaths; but when we find the consequences of such 
unconstitutional innovations putting in jeopardy the lives and hon- 
ours of those who are subject to martial law, a solemn and reproving 
sentiment must mingle with the views of every honest citizen, as he 
maturely considers the hardships of the case. 

The act of Vice-Admiral Berkeley was disavowed by the English 
government, and reparation was made for the wi'ong.* That officer 
was recalled from the American station ; though the people of the 
republic found just cause of complaint, in the circumstance that he 
was shortly after sent to a command that was considered more im- 
portant. It was, perhaps, fortunate that the attack on the Chesa- 
peake occurred at a moment when the relations between the two 
countries were rather more amicable than they had been for several 
years, or it might have led to an immediate declaration of war. 



CHAPTER II. 

Strange policy of government, as elio\\'n in tlio embargo — More vessels put in commis- 
sion — Developement of gun-boat system — Commencement of armaments on the Lakes 
- — Afl'air of the President and Little Belt — the merits of that occurrence, and the feel- 
ing of the country — The question of the right of Impressment considered. 

The assault of the Leopard on the Chesapeake, was replete with 
political lessons for the people of the United States. It showed the 
insults and outrages to which nations render themselves liable, when 
they neglect the means of defence ; it demonstrated how boldly their 
great commercial rivals calculated on the influence of that spirit of 

' Although the Melampus was not one of the ships mentioned in the order of Vice- 
Admiral Berkeley, the three deserters from that ship, as has been seen, were taken away, 
with one from the Halifax. Two of the former were returned, and the third died. Tlie 
two men returned, were delivered on the deck of the ship from which they had been 
violently taken away. It is understood ihattlie deserter from the Halifax was hanged, 
before orders could bi! received from Enafland to deliver him u]). It is also said that 
Captain Humphreys was never again employed, inconsequence of its being thought that 
he had exceeded his in.structious. 



1807.] NAVAL HISTORY. 



gain which was tliought to predominate in the councils of the repub- 
lic ; and it exhibited a determination on the part of the Enghsh 
af^ents, if notoji that of the goveriuiienl, to insist on claims that can 
never be yielded by independent nations, without a concession of a 
portion of their sovereign rights. But humiliating as all these con- 
siderations make the case, and extraordinary as were the conduct 
and feeling of the English, the policy pursued by the American gov- 
ernment, as a means of punishing the aggressors, and of vindicating 
the rights of the country, was quite as much out of the ordinary chan- 
nel of correct reasoning. With a foreign trade that employed 700,- 
000 tons of American shipping alone, Congress passed a law on the 
22d day of December, 1807, declaring an unlimited embargo, for all 
the purposes of foreign commerce, on every port in the Union; an- 
ticipating a large portion of the injuries that might be expected from 
an open enemy, by inflicting them itself! 

Tliis extraordinary measure was not avowedly taken in conse- 
quence of the attack on the Chesapeake, for the English government 
early professed a readiness to atoiie for that outrage, but it originated 
in the feelings it engendered. The national pride had been wound- 
ed, and the injury rankled the deeper, because all intelligent men 
felt that the nation was not in a condition to resent the insult. The 
squadi'on that then lay in Lynnhaven, was probably equal to block- 
ading the entire naval force of the United States of America, and 
this too, it ought never to be forgotten, in a country that met its cur- 
rent expenses and extinguished an ancient debt, with the duties on 
its imports alone, which possessed the amount of shipping already 
mentioned, and had nearly 100,000 registered seamen. 

Congress was convened on the 26th of October, and, as soon as 
there had been time to deliberate on what had passed, the President 
by his proclamation, interdicted all British vessels of war from enter- 
ing the American waters. When the national legislature assembled, 
a proposition to increase the number of gun-boats was laid before it. 
Without a sufficient naval force to raise a blockade that should be 
sustained by three ships of the line; with all the experience of the 
war of the Revolution fresh in their recollections ; and with the 
prospect of a speedy contest with a people that scarcely hesitated 
about closing the ports of the Union in a time of peace, the states- 
men of the day misdirected the resources of a great and growing 
country, by listening to this proposition, and creating a species of 
force that, in its nature, is merely auxiliary to more powerful means, 
and which is as entirely unfitted to the moral character of the people, 
as it is to the natural formation of the coast. On the 18lh of De- 
cember, a law was passed authorising the construction of 188 oun- 
boats, in addition to those already built, which would raise the total 
number of vessels of this description in the navy to 257. This was 
the devclopement of the much-condemned " gun-boat system," which, 
for a short time, threatened destruction to the pride, discipline, tone, 
and even morals of the service. 

There can be no question, that, in certain circumstances, vessels 
of this nature may be particularly useful, but these circumstances are 



24 NAVAL HISTORY. [1808. 

of rare occurrence, as they are almost always connected with attacks 
on towns and harbours. As tlie poHcy is now abandoned, it is un- 
necessary to point out the details by which it is rendered particuhirly 
unsuitable to this country, though there is one governing principle 
that may be mentioned, which, of itself, demonstrates its unfitness. 
The American cortst has an extent of near two thousand miles, and 
to protect it by means of gun-boats, even admitting the practicability 
of the method, would involve an expenditure sufficient to create a 
movable force in ships, that would not only answer all the same pur- 
poses of defence, but which would possess the additional advantage 
of acting, at need, offensively. In other words, it was entailing on 
the country the cost of an efficient marine, without enjoying its 
advantages. 

At the time when the laws of nations and the flag of the United 
States were outraged, in the manner related in the precedino' chap- 
ter, the government was empowered to employ no more than 1425 
seamen, ordinary seamen and boys, in all the vessels of the navy, 
whether in commission or in or^iinary. The administration felt that 
this number was insufficient for the common wants of the service, and 
early in 1808, the secretary asked for authority to raise 1272 addi- 
tional men, to be put on board the gun-boats that were now ready to 
receive them. The necessary law, however, was withheld. 

The near apjiroach of a war, that succeeded the attack of the 
Leopard, appears to have admonished the English goverinnent of 
the necessity of using some efficient means of settling the long-pend- 
in<r disputes between the two nations, and negotiations were carried 
on during the year 1808, in a temper that promised a pacific termin- 
ation to the quarrel, and in strict conformity with a practice, (it would 
be an abuse of terms to call it a policy,) that has long prevailed in 
the country, the time that should have been actively employed in 
preparations, was irreclaiinably lost, in the idle expectation that they 
would not be needed. No act was passed, nor any appropriation 
made, either for the employment of more men, or for the placinsr in 
commission any additional vessels, until the last of January, 1809, 
when the President was directed to equip the United States 44, Pres- 
ident 44, Essex 32, and John Adams 24 ; the latter vessel having 
been cut down to a sloop of war.* By the same law, the navy was 
greatly increased in efficiency, as respects the officers and men, the 
President being authorised to appoint as many additional midship- 
men as would make a total of 450, and to employ in all, 5025 sea- 
men, ordinary seamen, and boys. By addino- the remaining officers, 
and the marine corps, the whole service could not have contained a 

* This ship, which was built at Charleston, South Carolina, has undergone many 
changes. She ^vas constructed for a small frigate, carrying 24 twelves on her gun- deck ; 
was then cut down to a sloop ; next raised upon to be a frigate, and finally once more 
cut down It is said that the ship was built by contract, and that the original contractor, 
let out one side of her to a sub-contractor, who in a spirit of economy, so much reduced 
her moulds, that the ship had actually several inches more beam on one side, than on the 
other. As a consequence, .she both bore her canvass and sailed better on one tack than 
on the other. The John Adams was rebuilt entli-ely. a few years since ; and the present 
vessel is one of the most beautiful ships of her class that floats 



1810.] NAVAL HISTORY. 25 

total of less than 7000 persons, M^hen the act was carried into exe- 
cution. 

The equi)3ment of the ships just mentioned, and the active em- 
ployment of all the small vessels of the service, probably saved the 
navy of the United States from a total disorganisation. It was the 
means of withdrawing a large portion of the officers from the gun- 
boats, and of renewing that high tone and admirable discipline which 
had distinguished it, at the close of the Tripelitan war. By this time, 
nearly all the midshipmen who had been before Tripoli, were lieuten- 
ants ; and there was already one instance in which an officer, who 
had entered the navy as a midshipman, commanded the frigate in 
which he had just served.* 

About this time, too, the government serionsly turned its attention 
towards those inland waters on which its future policy might render 
the employment of vessels of war necessary. Both England and 
France had used cruisers on the great lakes, in the early history of 
the country, though the settlements of the former did not extend to 
their shores, until after the conquest of Canada. In the war of the 
Revolution, vessels were built on LakeChamplain, by both the belli- 
gerents, though in no instance, had any American naval officer ever 
yet been employed in the interior waters. In the course of the sum- 
mer of 1S08, however, it was thought prndent to make a commence- 
ment towards the employment of a force in that quarter, England 
already possessing ships on Ontario and Erie. 

There beinjj no especial law for such an object, advantage was 
taken of the discretionary powers granted to the President under the 
act for building gun-boats. A few officers were placed under the 
orders of Lieutenant M. T. AVoolsey, and that crentleman was em- 
powered to make contracts for the construction of three vessels, one 
of which was to be built on Lake Ontario, and the other two on Lake 
Champlain. The two vessels constructed on Lake Champlain were 
merely ordinary gun-boats, but that constructed on Lake Ontario 
was a regular brig of war. The latter was of about two hundred and 
forty tons measurement, was pierced for sixteen guns, and when 
delivered by the contractors, in the spring of 1809, to the sea-officers 
ordered to receive her, she mounted 16 twenty-four pound carron- 
ades. In consequence of an arrangement that was made, about this 
time, with England, but which was not ratified in Europe, this ves- 
sel, which was called the Oneida, was not equipped and sent upon 
the lake till the following year. 

This was a period of vacillating policy in both nations, England, 
nt times, appearing disposed to arrange amicably the many difterent 
points that had arisen with America, and the latter country acting, 
at moments, as if it believed war to be impossible, while at others, it 
seemed to be in earnest with its preparations. Thus passed the 
years I80S, 1809, and 1810, the embargo having been raised, follow- 
ed by a non-intercourse law with Great Britain, and succeeded by an 
absence of all restrictions. 

'Captain Decatur. 



26 NAVAL HISTORY. [1811. 

During this period of doubt, the vessels of the navy that were in 
commission, were principally employed on the coast, or they kept 
up the communications with the different diplomatic agents in 
Europe, by carrying despatches. There is no question that these 
were important years to the service, for, since the attack on the 
Chesapeake, the utmost vigilance prevailed, and every commander 
watched jealously for an opportunity to wipe out the disgi-ace, real 
or imaginary, of that unfortunate affair. No more vessels were sent 
to the Mediterranean, but the whole maritime force of the republic 
was kept at home. The country had now in active service the 



following vessels, viz : 








President 


44, 


Hornet 


18, 


Constitution 


44, 


Argus 


16, 


United States 


44, 


Siren 


16, 


Essex 


33, 


Nautilus 


12, 


John Adams 


24, 


Enterprise 


12, 


Wasp 


18, 


Vixen 


12. 



In addition to these cruisers, were a great number of gun-boats, 
which were principally commanded by sailing-masters, who had 
been selected from among the officers of merchant vessels. The 
Nautilus and Vixen had both been rigged into brigs ; the Enter- 
prise soon after was altered in the same manner, and there proving 
an occasion to rebuild the Hornet, she was converted into a ship, 
and pierced for two more guns, making twenty in all. But, un- 
happily, the opportunity was lost, of building and equipping a force 
that could prevent blockades. 

The English increased their cruisers on the American coast, in 
proj)ortion to the Americans themselves, though their vessels no 
longer lay off the harbours, impressing men, and detaining ships. It 
was seldom that a British cruiser was now seen near the land, the 
government probably cautioning its commanders to avoid unneces- 
sary exhibitions of this sort, with a view to prevent collisions. Still 
they were numerous, cruised at no great distance, and by keeping 
up constant communications between Bermuda and Halifax, may be 
said to have intercepted nearly every ship that passed from one 
hemisphere to the other. 

Such in effect, was the state of things in the spring of the year 
1811, when information was received by the senior officer of the 
navy afloat, Commodore Rodgers, that a man had been impressed 
from an American brig, at no great distance from Sandy Hook, by 
an English frigate that was supposed to be the Guerriere 38, Captain 
Dacres. The broad pennant of Commodore Rodgers was flying on 
board the President 44, Captain Ludlow, which ship was then 
anchored off Annapolis. Repairing on board his vessel, he got 
under way with an intention of proceeding off New York to inquire 
into the facts, on the 10th of May, passing the capes shortly after. 

Oa the ICth of ]May, at noon, a sail was made from the President, 
which ship was then about six leagues from the land, to the south- 
ward of New York. It was soon perceived that the stranger was a 
vessel of war, by the squareness of his yards, and the symmetry of 



1811.] NAVAL HISTORY. 27 

his sails, and the American frij^ate stood for him, with an intention 
to get within hail. At 2 the President set her broad pennant and 
ensign. The stranger now made several signals, but finding they 
were not answered, he wore and stood to the southward. Although 
the President gained upon the chase, the wind lessened, and night 
set in before she could get near enough to distinguish her force. It 
was past 7 o'clock in the evening when the stranger took in his 
studding-sails, hauled up his courses, and came by the wind on the 
starboard tack. He now set an ensign at his gaff", but it was too 
dark to discover the nation. As he came to the wind, he necessarily 
showed his broadside, and was taken for a small frigate. 

The President continuing to stand down, the chase wore four 
several times, in order to pi-event the American frigate from getting 
a position to windward. It was consequently near half past 8 be- 
fore Commodore Rodgers could bring to, as he had desired, on the 
weather bow of the stranger, or a little forward of his beam, when, 
being within a hundred yards, he hailed, and demanded "what ship 
is that ?" No answer was given to this question, but it was repeated, 
word for word, from the stranger. After a short pause the question 
was again put, when the stranger fired a gun, the shot from which 
cut away abreast-back-stay, and entered the main-mast. Commo- 
dore Rodgers was on the point of ordering a shot to be returned, 
when one of the guns was discharged from the second division of 
the President. The stranger now fired three guns in quick succes- 
sion, and then, after a short pause, the remainder of his bi-oadside 
and all his musketry. The President, as a matter of course, deliv- 
ered her broadside in return. In a few minutes, however, it was 
perceived on board the American vessel, that they were engaged Avith 
an adversary so inferior as to render her resistance very feeble, and 
orders were sent to the different divisions to stop their fire. 

The guns of the President were soon silent, when, to the surprise 
of all on board her, the stranger opened anew. The fire of the 
American frigate recommenced, but it was again stopped in the 
course of a very few minutes, in consequence of the crippled con- 
dition of her antagonist, who lay nearly end on, and apparently 
unmanageable. The American now hailed again, and got an 
answer that her adversary was a British ship of war, though the 
name was inaudible, on account of the wind, which had increased. 
Satisfied that his late opponent was disabled, and having no desire 
to do more than had already been accomplished, Commodore 
Rodgers gave the name of his own ship, wore round, and running a 
short distance to leeward, he hauled by the wind again, with a view 
to remain nigh the English vessel during the night. The President 
kept lights displayed, in order to let her late antagonist know her 
position, and wore several times to remain near her. 

When the day dawned the English ship was discovered some dis- 
tance to leeward, her drift in the night having been considerable. 
The President bore up under easy canvass, and running down to 
her, a boat was lowered, and Mr. Creighton, the first lieutenant, was 
sent on board, with an oflTer of services. The stranger proved to be 



28 NAVAL HISTORY. [1811. 

his Britannic majesty's ship Little Belt IS, Captain Bingham. The 
Little Belt was a vessel of twenty-two guns, but having a light spar- 
deck above, on which no guns were mounted, she had the external 
appearance of a small frigate. She had sufTci-ed severely by the fire 
of the President, and thirty-one of her people had been killed and 
wounded. As Captain Bingham declined receiving any assistance, 
the vessels parted, each making the best of her way to a port of her 
own nation. 

This occurrence gave rise to much angry discussion in America, 
and widened the breach which already existed between the English 
and the American nations. The account given by Captain Bingham 
diflered essentially from that of Commodore Rodgers, and official 
investigations were made on both sides. On that of the Americans 
a formal court of inquiry was held, and every sea-ofllicer that was in 
the ship was examined, as well as a great many of the petty officers. 
The testimony was very clear, and it was in a great measure free 
from the discrepancies that usually distinguish the accounts of battles, 
whether by sea or land. The fact that the Little Belt fired the first 
gun was established by the oath of the officer who ordered the gun 
fired in return, as this gentleman distinctly testified that he gave the 
command, under a standing order of the ship, and in consequence 
of having seen the flash and heard the report of the Little Belt's gun. 
He not oidy testified that he heard the report of the gun, but that he 
also heard the noise made by the shot which entered the mast. Other 
officers and men corroborated this account, and in a way to render 
their evidence not only consistent with itself, but with probability. 
As the President was very fully officered, the number and respecta- 
bility of the witnesses, put all cavilling about the facts at rest in the 
country. 

It is believed that there was no proper court of inquiry lield on the 
conduct of Captain Bingham, though affidavits of most of his officers 
were published. By that gentleman's official account, as it has been 
given to the world, as well as by the affidavits mentioned, it is af- 
firmed that the President commenced the action by firing, not a 
single gun, but an entire broadside. He also intimated that the 
action lasted three quarters of an hour, and appeared desirous of 
leaving the impression that the President had sheered oflT. 

As between the two governments, the question was reduced to one 
of veracity. If the account of the American officer was true, that 
of the English officer was untrue. Each government, as commonly 
happens, seeming disposed to believe its own officer, contrary to 
what might have been expected, no political consequences followed 
this rencontre. The President sustained little injury, no round shot 
besides the one in her main-mast, and another in her fore-mast, 
having struck her, and, of her people, one boy alone was slightly 
wounded by a musket-ball. The Little Belt, on the other hand, 
having suffered even out of proportion to the disparity of force be- 
tween the vessels, the American government was satisfied with the 
punishment already inflicted on the assailants; while the English 
government could not well demand reparation, without demanding 



1811.] NAVAL HISTORY. 29 

that the American functionaries would not believe their own officer. 
After some communications on the subject, and an exchange of the 
testimony that had been given, nothing furtlier appears to have been 
done, or contemplated, by eitner government. 

Not so, however, with the people of the two nations. In England 
the account of Captain Bingham was generally believed, and it 
served to increase a dislike that was so little concealed as to attract 
general comment. In America there were two parties, one of which 
as blindly defended, perhaps, as the other blindly condemned their 
own officer. A strong feeling existed in the towns, and among a 
certain portion of the rural population, in favour of what was called 
the English cause, as the struggles of Great Britain were connected 
with the general war, and party feeling had blinded so many to the 
truth, that the country had a great number of persons who, without 
stopping to examine into facts, were disposed to believe their own 
government and all its agents wrong, whenever they came at all in 
collision with that of England. This portion of the community, 
influenced by the remains of colonial dependence, fostered liy the 
prejudices and influence of Enghsh merchants settled in the towns, 
and strengthened by the acrimony of party, was bitter in its denun- 
ciations against Commodore Rodgers ; and it may be doubted if that 
officer ever regained, in the public estimation, the standing that was 
lost by means so equivocal. They who judge of military life merely 
by its brilliancy and parade, in moments of display, know little of 
the privations of the soldier and sailor. Obliged to live under laws 
that are peculiar to himself, weighed down with a responsibility that 
makes no show to casual observers, and placed in situations to decide 
and act in cases in which the principles are contested even by the 
most acut'e minds, the ofiiccr of rank is entitled to receive every in- 
dulgence which comports with justice and reason. Most of all ought 
he to be protected against the calumnies and assaults ofthe enemy, and 
of the disaffected of his own nation. That his country's enemies 
should assail him wrongfully, thoujih unjustifiable, is perhaps to be 
expected; but when the blow comes from those who should ever 
listen coldly to hostile accusations, bitter indeed is the draught that 
he is made to swallow. 

In the case of Commodore Rodgei-s, much sophistry, in addition 
to some arguments that were not without their force, was used to 
show that he was wrong in chasing the Little Belt, and in not ans- 
wering her hail, instead of insisting on receiving a reply to his own. 
As the case is connected witli general principles that are in constant 
use in the intercourse between vessels, it may be useful to give them 
a brief examination. 

Those who condemned Commodore Rodgers, insisted that it was 
the duty of a neutral not to chase a belligerent, but to submit to be 
chased by her; and, as a neutral could have no inducement to con- 
ceal iicr name, he was bound to make a prompt answer when hailed 
by the Little Belt, the latter being a belligerent. These two positions 
were supported by quotations from some of the writers on internar 
tional law, who have laid down opinions to this eflfiect. 

VOL. II. 2 



30 NAVAL HISTORY. [1811. 

The laws of rmtions are merely a set of rules that have grown out 
of necessity, and which, like the common law, are founded in reason. 
The received commentators on this code, while they have confined 
themselves to principles, have been remarkable for their knowledge, 
and the justice of their deductions ; but, in many cases in which they 
have descended to details, they betray the ignorance which distin- 
guishes the mere man of theory, from him who has been taught in 
the school of practice. Without the right to chase, a vessel of war 
would be perfectly useless in a time of peace, and pirates, smugglers, 
mutineers, and even those vessels which, by being subject to the 
laws of the same country, are properly amenable to the supervision 
of a man-of-war, would escape by steering in a direction diflerent 
from that of the cruiser. No military duty, M'hatever, could be 
discharged at sea, without the right to chase ; nor is it usual among 
seamen, to consider the mere act of chasing an act of hostility. Ves- 
sels chase each other, even when the object is to ask succour, nor is 
it possible to deliver despatches, to communicate ncAvs, to ask for 
information, or to do any thing which requires that ships should be 
near each other, without chasing, when one of the parties sees fit to 
steer in a wrong direction. 

Neither is the right to hail a purely belligerent right, since, like the 
right to chase, it is clearly a step in communicating, after vessels are 
near enough to speak. Ifa hail necessarily brought a true answer, 
there would be more reason in bestowing the right on belligerents, 
though even in that case, it would be easy to cite instances in which 
it would be useless. There may be many wars at the same time, 
and belligerents that are neutrals as respects each other might meet 
on the high seas, and if both parties stood on their absti-act right to 
hail, a combat would be inevitable. Belligerents are properly in- 
vested with no exclusive privdeges that are not in their nature rea- 
sonable, and which bring with them direct and useful consequences. 
Thus the right to hail, without a right to insist on a true answer, is 
a perfectly negative privilege, and it will not be pretended that ships 
will not answer as they may see expedient at the moment. So far 
from the answer to a hail's bringing with it any necessary advantage 
to the party hailing, in time of war it is often the means of placing 
the latter in a worse situation than he would be without resorting to 
the hail at all. Such was the fact in the case of the Philadelphia 
when destroyed, the people of that ship having been lulled into a 
fatal security by the answer received to their hail. In short, as the 
right to hail brings with it no necessary advantage, it is folly to 
attribute" it to any party as an exclusive privilege. Vessels of war 
must ascertain which are enemies, and which are neutrals, in the 
best manner they can, as civil officers are compelled to look out the 
individuals they would arrest in society, being certain that both foes 
and debtors will deceive those who seek them, if there is a motive and 
an opportunity. 

But the vindication of Commodore Rodgers' course is by no 
means limited to this argument. lie was cruising on his own coast, 
where it was the particular province of a vessel of war to exercise 



1811.] NAVAL HISTORY. 3] 

vigilance, and particularly to be on the alert, lest the belligerents 
themselves exceeded their powers. Neutrals are by no means des- 
titute of rights of this important nature. It was known that the 
English cruisers were in the practice of seizing American vessels on 
pretences that were not recognised by international law, and of even 
impressing seamen under a regulation that was purely municipal, 
and which, so far from being in accordance with the laws of nations, 
was not only opposed to them, but which was a direct violation of 
national rights, of common sense, reason, and natural justice. This 
was not all; in executing this municipal law on the high seas, they 
even exceeded the limits acknowledged by themselves, and were in 
the constant practice of carrying off Americans, and seamen of otlier 
nations, from American ships, as well as the subjects of the British 
crown. As it is clearly the general duty of the commander of an 
American vessel of war, to prevent the violation of the laws of nations, 
whenever it is in his power, unless expressly ordered by his own 
government not to interfere, it was more particularly the duty of such 
a commander to be vigilant, and to prevent these abuses on his own 
coast. No English vessel of war would hesitate an instant, in pre- 
venting impressment from a merchant ship of his nation, nor should 
any American. The American commander of a public ship, who 
should passively witness an impressment from a merchant vessel of 
his own nation, unless restrained by his orders, would deserve to be 
cashiered. As connected solely with public law and general justice, 
there can be no question that the commander of a vessel of war, who 
knew that a countryman had been impressed by a ship of another 
nation, would have a perfect right to pursue that ship, and, at need, 
to liberate the man by force. That high considerations of policy 
have hitherto prevented the American government from issuing 
orders to that effect, or have induced it to issue orders of a contrary 
nature, in no degree impairs a right which is connected with one of 
the principal objects for which vessels of war are kept afloat, the 
protection of the person and property of the citizen, when beyond 
the reach of local authority. How far Commodore Rodgers was 
authorised to act in this manner, by his own government, or whether 
he was prohibited from interfering at all on motives of policy, does 
not appear; but we are bound to believe that every officer is disposed 
to do his whole duty. As the subject is connected with the causes 
of quarrel which, shortly after the rencontre between the President 
and Little Belt, produced a war between the two countries, this may 
be a proper place to make a further allusion to the occurrences and 
claims that brought about that important event. 

From the periodof thecommencementofthegeneral warinEurope, 
the American commerce had been exposed to a series of decrees, 
orders in council, blockades, and constructions of belligerent rights 
that were entirely novel, both in principles and practice, and which, 
in the end, rested on a justification no better than a determination to 
letaliate for the wrongs done to neutrals through the hostile nation, 
ny punishing the sufferer. It is unnecessary to add, that Great 
Britain and France were the nations that pursued tliis high-handed 



NAVAL HISTORY. [1811. 



and illegal policy, unduly subjecting all the rest of Christendom to 
the consequences of their quarrels. In this strife in injustice, there 
was not any essential difference in the conduct of the two great 
belligerents, so far as principle was concerned, though England was 
enabled to do America much the most harm, in consequence of her 
superior power on the ocean. 

To the wrongs inflicted on the American commerce, by means of 
her illegal blockades and forced constructions of colonial privileges, 
England, however, added the intolerable outrage of impressment from 
on board American vessels on the high seas. 

The government of England claims a right, by prescription, to 
require the services of all its own seamen, as well as those of all 
subjects who may be deemed vagabonds, for the royal navy, in a 
time of war. Some exceptions are made in favour of apprentices 
and others, either by statutes or by concessions from the administra- 
tion, but these do not impair the principle. That communities have 
a leiial right to make any regulations of this nature is not disputed, 
though in exercising privileges that the usages of mankind tolerate, 
nothing is easier than to offend against natural justice and the laws of 
God. It is evident, in the first place, that a law or a usage, which 
compels a particular portion of society to serve on board ships, for 
an unlimited period, without reciprocity as regards their fellow- 
subjects, and for a compensation determined by the state, is founded 
in injustice. England may find her justification for the practice in 
her necessities, perhaps, though necessity is but a poor apology for 
any moral wrong, but it cannot be seriously contended that she hris a 
right to make another people an accessary, directly or indirectly, to 
the oppression. In considering the purely legal question, this moral 
consideration should never be lost si^ht of. 

Admitting, in the fullest extent, the right of a nation to impress its 
own citizens or subjects, it is, in uo manner, a belligerent right. The 
fact that it claims no power to exercise the practice in a time of 
peace, does not give the latter, in the least, the character of a belli- 
gerent right, since all belligerent rights are deducible from interna- 
tional law, whereas the authority to impress is derived solely from 
the government in which the practice exists. That England exer- 
cises the power to impress only in a time of war, is dependent on her 
own vvill, whereas a belligerent right would be altogether indepen- 
dent of local control. It is just as competent for the parliament of 
Great Britain to say it will impress in a time of peace, as it is to 
permit impressment in time of war, or for it to except certain classes 
from the operation of the practice. The king of Entrland, according 
to the theory of the British constitution, makes war, and it is the 
kinof who requires the services of this particular class of his subjects; 
and if he thus requires them under the law of nations, the parlia- 
ment has no power to curtail his authority. In passing a law to 
exempt any portion of the community from impressment, the English 
government itself admits that the atuhority to impress, is derived 
from municipal, and not from international law. The only privilege 
conferred by the usages of nations, in connexion with this practice. 



1811.] NAVAL HISTORY. 33 

is the permission for each country to make its own municipal regu- 
lations ; and in granting to England the right to impress her own 
seanieti, they also grant to America the right to say that no impress- 
ment shall take place under the American flag. 

The fact, however, that impressment is a local and not a general 
right, is independent o( all ex parte admissions, or narrow regula- 
tions. There must be an entire reciprocity, in the nature of things, 
in all international law ; and no country that in the least defers to 
natural justice, can devote a particular class of its people to a com- 
pulsory service in vessels of war. It follows as necessary conse- 
quences, that the monstrous doctrine must be asserted, that one 
nation shall not respect natural justice in its laws, because it is not 
convenient for all other nations to imitate it; that reciprocity is not 
necessary to international law; or that impressment is strictly a 
national and not an international regulation. For a particular 
peo})le to pretend to legislate on, or to qualify, in any manner, a 
right derived from the laws of nations, is an insult to the community 
of nations, since it is arrogating to themselves a power to control that 
which is only dependent on common consent. 

If it be admitted that the right to impress is solely a municipal 
power, it follows inevitably that it cannot legally be practised on the 
high seas, on board of vessels of a nation different from that of the 
party claiming to exercise the authority. No principle is better 
settled than that which declares a ship, for all the purposes of mu- 
nici])al law, to be solely within the jurisdiction of her own flag, while 
cut of all territorial jurisdiction. Enaland might just as legally claim 
to arrest persons for treason, poaching, or crime of any sort, on board 
American vessels on the high seas, as to claim a right to impress even 
her own seamen. Both cases would be an attempt to extend the 
jurisdiction of one people over the authority of another. 

Although, as a general rule, impressment and the seizure of crim- 
inals on board xVmerican vessels on the high seas, woidd be an equal 
violation of public and municipal law, as a particular grievance the 
former practice would give more just ground of complaint than the 
latter. The arrest of a criminal merely invades the jurisdiction and 
offends the sovereignty of a people, while impressment inflicts a 
serious practical evil, by depriving ships of their crews, at a moment 
when they have the greatest need of them. Did England actually 
possess the right to take her seamen on the high seas, America, under 
those great principles that pervade all law, whether public or private, 
would have a claim to insist that this right should be exercised in a 
way to do her the least possible injury. 

Such are the general principles that touch the case. An examin- 
ation of the subordinate facts leaves England still less justification 
for the practice she asserts. In the first place, that country contends 
that America gives employment to a large number of British subjects 
in her mercantile and her public marine. This is true ; but Eng- 
land does the same as respects all other nations. During the gen- 
eral wars, the merchant vessels of Great Britain receive seamen from 
all parts of the world, and probably one half of those tJius employed 



34 NAVAL HISTORY. [1811. 

are foreigners, Americans included. Not only are volunteers of all 
nations received in her ships of war, but frequently men are im- 
pressed who have not the smallest personal, or national, similitude 
to English subjects. It is true, that England never asserted a right 
to take any but her own subjects, on the high seas or elsewhere, but 
it is equally true, that, in exercising the riffht she claims, her agents 
have impressed thousands of native Americans.* The excuse 
for taking these men, was the ditticulty of distinguishing between an 
English and an American sailor, by mere external evidence. This 
difficulty, of itself, is an additional reason why England should hesi- 
tate about resorting to the practice, even admitting the right to exist, 
since it is a governing principle which qualifies the exercise of every 
right, that it is not to be used affirmatively, to the prejudice of third 
parties. 

That England may need the services of her seamen, in no manner 
entitles her to violate neutral privileges to obtain them. Such a doc- 
trine would authorise a belligerent nation, in its extremity, to rob the 
treasury of a neutral, in order to pay its troops. The attempt which 
has been made, in connexion with this subject, to liken the necessities 
of states to the necessities of individuals, involves a violation of all 
principle. There is no just similitude between the cases. The man 
who is starving, probably commits no moral crime, when, after hav- 
ing exhausted all the legal means of procuring nourishment tliat are 
in his power, he takes food that does not belong to him, since in all 
respects he yields to an imperious natural necessity ; but the nation 
that urges such an excuse for its violations of neutral and legal rights, 
is merely upholding artificial interests, and those too that are often 
unjust in themselves, by artificial expedients. But, even admitting 
the validity of this argument, it does not aflject the rights of this 
country to resist the expedients of this necessity. We may not cen- 
sure the drowning man who fastens upon our legs, but no one will 
dispute out right to shake him oflT. 

Expediency has no necessary connexion with right ; but if the 
necessities of England are to be used as an argument in favour of her 
doctrine of impressment, so may necessity be used against it on the 
part of America. The first is a country with an overflowing popu- 
lation, among whom men are driven to obtain livelihoods in the best 
manner they can. Thus, in time of peace, the excess of seamen, in 
Great Britain, drives them abroad to seek employment, and they have 
the eflfect to keep the American on shore, by lowering prices. As a 
consequence, a large portion of the men in American ships are Eng- 
lish sailors, who, under the doctrine of England, are all liable to be 
reclaimed for the service of that country, in a time of war. This 
system is evidently rendering the American mercantile marine a 

* It has been satisfiictorily ascertained that the number of impressed Americans on 
board British sliips of war, was seldom lesstlian the entire number of seamen in the 
American riavy, Ijetwcen the years 1802 and 1S12. At the declaration of war in 1812, 
the number that was turned over to the prison ships for refusing to fitrht against their 
own country, is said to have exceeded two thousand. The propriety of such a policy 
need not be argccd. 



1811.] NAVAL HISTORY. 35 

nurseiy for English seamen, and converting a legitimate means of 
national force, into a scheme for destroying it.* 

Tlie principles that control this intei-est, are of a very simple char- 
acter. Each nation has a right to make its own municipal ordi- 
nances, and the country that claims the services of its seamen, is 
bound to extend its regulations so far as to keep that class of its sub- 
jects within its own jurisdiction, or to incur the risk of having its 
claim defeated, by the conflicting rights of other states. 



CHAPTER III. 



Events jusl precedin? tlie war — Con.=titutior< at Portsmouth — nt Cherbourg:, &c — State of 
the navy in 1812 — Marine Corps — Policy of ihe government in reference to the navy in 
the event ofv^ar — Feeling of the country on tlie subject. 

It has been seen that no consequences, beyond an increased alien- 
ation between the two countries, followed the rencontre between the 
President and Little Belt. Although the American navy could not 
exult in a victory over a force as inferior as that of the English vessel, 
it did not fail to make comi)arisons between the eflect of the fire of 
their own frigate, and that of the Leopard, in the attack on the Ches- 
apeake. Ill both cases the water was sufficiently smooth, and the 
trifling resistance made by the Little Belt, was so much against the 
chances of the President, as the Chesapeake made no resistance at 
all. Close observers noted the important fact, that the English ship, 
in twelve minutes' unresisted firing, killed and wounded but twenty- 
one persons among a frigate's ship-comi)any, while the American 
vessel, in a firing of but six or eight minutes, had killed and wounded 
thirty -one on board a sloop of war.t 

Not long after the meeting between the President and Little Belt, 
the United States 44, bearing the broad pennant of Commodore De- 
catur, fell in with the Eurydice and Atalanta, British ships, off New 
York, and, while the commanders were hailing, one of the seamen 
of the former vessel, in carelessly handling the lanyard of his lock, 
fired a gun.| The reader will learn in this fact, the high state of 
preparation that then prevailed in an American man-of-war, the lock 
liavingbeen cocked, and every thing in perfect readiness to commence 
an action, at a moment's notice. Happily both parties were cool 

"The actual state of things places England still more in the wrong, as regards her pre- 
tension. It is a matter of notoriety that the legal authorities of that country export fam- 
ilies of paupers to this hemisphere, in order to be relieved from them. The government 
also encourages emigration. To set up the claim of allegiance against families tlius 
driven away, to be saddled on other nations, is an outrage on common sense. 

t In consequence of the President's forging ahead, her forward guuswere not all fired 
the second time. 

_ I This was the excuse of the man. Commodore Decatur believed that the gun was 
lired inientionally by its captain, with a view to bring on an engagement. So strong was 
Uie feeling among the seamen of the day, that such an occurrence is highily piobable. 



36 NAVAL HISTORY. [1811. 

and discreet, and proper explanations having been made, the Eng 
lish commander was entirely satisfied that no insult, or assault was 
intended. 

Durinij the remainder of the year 1811, and the commencement 
of that of 18r2, the public ships were kept actively cruising on the 
coast, as before, or they were employed in communicating A\iih the 
different diplomatic agents in Europe. 

About this time, the Constitution 44, Captain Hull, was sent to 
Europe, having on board specie for the payment of the interest on 
the debt due in Holland. After touching at Cherbourg, the Con- 
stitution went otf the Texel, and landing her money, though not 
without great difficulty, in consequence of the roughness of the 
weather, and the great distrust of those on shore, who were closely 
blockaded by the English, she proceeded to Portsmouth, where she 
remained a few days, in order to communicate with the legation at 
London. 

Having despatched his business in England, Captain Hull sailed 
for France. The day succeeding the night on which the Constitu- 
tion left Portsmouth, sevend sail of En<>"lish men-of-war were seen 
in chase, and as there Iiad been some difficulty about deserters while 
in port,* it was the impression on hoard the American ship tiiat the 

* While lyina: at aiiclior in tlic roads, a man let himself into the water, and swam with 
the tide to the Madagascar frigate, which was lying directly astern of the Constitution. 
The deserter was too much exhausted when first taken up, to state his object, and the 
MadaL'ascar sent a boat to acquaint the officers of the Constitution that one of their men 
had fallen overboard, and had been picked up by that ship. Accordingly, a cutter was 
sent in the morning to procure the man. when the officer was told that he had claimed 
protection as an Englishman, and that he had been sent on board the guard-ship. Cap- 
tain Hull was not on board at the time, and Mr. Morris, the first lieutenant, sought an 
interview with Sir Roger Curtis, the admiral then in command at Portsmouth. Mr. 
Morris was very politely received, and he stated his errand. The admiral informed him, 
that it was not in his power to give up a deserter who claimed to be a British subject. 
" Have you any evidence. Sir Roger, beyond the man's own word, that he is actually- au 
Englishman 1" " None whatever, sir, but we are obliged to take his declaration to that 
effect." Nothing remained for the American officer but to retui-n on board his own ship. 

That night extra sentinels were posted, with positive orders to fire at any thing that 
might be seen floating near the ship. About midnight two or three muskets were dis- 
charged, and, on inquiry, it was found that there was a man in the water close along- 
side. A boat was lowered, and it brought on board a seaman of the Madagascar, who 
had contrived to buoy himself up by means of some shells of blocks, and, proHting by a 
turn in the tide, to drift down upon the Constitution. This man was asked what coun- 
tryman he was, and h% ansv^ered. in a strong Irish accent, " an American, your honour." 
He was sent below, with orders to take good care of him. 

The next day the deserter was in(iuired after, and it was intimated that as he said he 
was an American, he could not be given up. It is believed, however, that no formal de- 
mand was made for the man. though it was rumoured on .shore that there would be 
trouble when the (Constitution attempted to go to sea, as it was known she was about to 
do that night. In the course of the day two frigates came and anchored near her, when 
disliking his berth, the American commanding officer got undei'way, and dropped out 
about a mile farther to seaward. So close were the British .ships at the time, that the 
pilot expressed his apprehensions of getting foul of one of them, and he was told to go 
foul, if he could do no better. By careful handling', however, the ship \^•ent clear. 

A frigate followed the Constitution to her new anchorage. About 8 o'clock, Captain 
Hull, who was now on board, ordered the ship cleared for action. The lanterns were 
lighted, fore and aft, and the people went to quarters, by beat of drum. It is not easy to 
portray the enthusiasm that existed in this noble ship, every officer and man on board 
believing that the attiiir of the Chesapeake was about to be repeated, so far, at least, as 
the as.sault was concerned. The manner in which the people took hold of the gun- 
tackles has been described as if they were about to jerk the guns through the shi|)'s sides. 
An officer who was passing througii the batteries, observed to the men, that if there was 
an occasion to fight, it would be in their quarrel, and that he expected good service from 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 37 



vessels were sent in pursuit. The Constitution outsailed all the 
stran<iers but one, a frigate that weathered upon her. After leading 
this sliip a long distance ahead of the others, Captain Hull hove to, 
beat to quarters, and waited to know her object. It fortunately proved 
to he amicable. 

Before (]uitting Cherbourg, off which place English cruisers were 
constantly hovering, it had been agreed tjiat the Constitution, on her 
return, should show a particular signal, in order that the French 
batteries might not mistake her for a cruiser of the enemy. On 
reaching the entrance of the port, one of the English vessels kept 
close to the American frigate, while the latter was turning up into 
the roads, with a fresh breeze, and in thick weather. Unfortunately, 
some strong objections existed to making the sigtial, and the batteries 
fired a gun. The shot struck the Constitution in the bends. It was 
soon followed by a second that flew between the masts. A third 
passed through the hammocks stowed in the waist, and stove one of 
the boats. The steadiness of the frigate now induced the French to 
pause, and an opportunity offering soon after to show the signal, the 
firing ceased. The English ship bore up, as soon as the battery 
opened.* 

The Hornet 18, Captain Lawrence, followed the Constitution to 
Europe, and the Wasp the Hornet. In this manner did the autumn 
of 181 1, and the spring of 1813 pass, ship succeeding ship, with the 
despatches and diplomatic communications that so soon after ter- 
minated in the war with England. As we are now approaching the 
most important period in the history of the American navy, it may 
be well to take a short review of its actual condition. 

Between the reduction in 1801, and the commencement of 1812,. 
a period of eleven eventful years, during which the nation was 
scarcely a day without suffering violations of its neutral rights, not a 
sinoie frigate had been added to the navy ! The ships of the line 
authorised in 1799 were entirely abandoned, and notwithstanding the 
critical relations of the country, the experience of the past, and so 
many years of commercial prosperity, the navy, in some respects, 
was in a worse situation than after the sale of the ships in 1 801. Of 
the thirteen frigates retained at that time, the Philadelphia 38, had 
been tak(>n and destroyed, and the New York 36, General Creene 
28, and Boston 28, had <rone to decay, without repairs. Thus, in 

tbem. "Let tlie quarter-deck look out for the colours," vv-as the answer, " and ^ve vi'ill 
look out for the p^uus." I)i short, it was not possible for a ship's company to be in a bet- 
ter liumour to defend the lionour of the flap:, when tlie drumbeat the retreat, and the 
boatswain piped the people to the capstan-bar. The ship lifted her anclior, and stood 
over towards Cherbourg, however, without being followed. There is no doubt that the 
prudence of Sir Roger Curtis alone prevented au enc:agement of some sort or other, on 
tliis occasion. Tliat officer probably felt, as many of the older officers of the British ser- 
vice are understood to have felt, the injustice of the English system, particularly as it 
was practised towards America. 

* One of tho.se singular cases of death, is said to have occurred on board the Constitu- 
tion, on this occasion, that .sometimes follow injuries inflicted by cannon-shot. A mid- 
shipman was passing along the ship's waist, at the moment the shot that stove the boat 
entered, and he fell. He was taken up, carried below, and in a day or two died, tlwugh 
no external hurt was visible. It is supposed that the ^hol must have produced the death, 
inough in what manner is unknown. 



38 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

point of fact, though twehe ships of this class appear on the list of 
the day, but nine actually existed, for any practical purposes. The 
various vessels of inferior force, that have been already mentioned in 
this work, as constructed under difterent laws, had been added to the 
navy, while two or three temporarily taken into the service were 
already sold. A few small schooners had been purchased. Navy 
yards had been established at Philadelphia, IVew York, Boston, 
Washington, Gosport, and Portsnjouth, though they were still in 
their infancy, and very incomplete. One hundred and seventy gun- 
boats had also been built, and were distributed in the difierent ports 
of the country. 

While the navy on the whole, the gun-boats excepted, had rather 
lost than gained in physical force, since the reduction of 181)1 , it had 
improved immeasurably in discipline, tone, and in an esprit de corps. 
The little that had been lost, in these respects, through the service in 
gun-boats, was more than regained by the effect produced by the 
attack on the Chesapeake, and the constant state of excitement that 
prevailed with regard to English aggressions, during the few preced- 
ing years. The lists of captains, masters-commandant, and lieuten- 
ants weiw small, but filled with men trained to obedience, and con- 
sequently, qualified to command. It is true, but one of the officers 
of the Revolution remained, wiio was at the head of the service; and 
he was nearly superannuated by years and infirmities ; but those to 
whom they had imparted their traditions and spirit had succeeded 
them. Commodore Samuel Nicholson, whose name first appeared 
in our pages, in 1776, as commander of the Dolphin 10, died at the 
head of the service at the close of the year 1811. The celebrated 
Preble had preceded him several years to the grave, and Commodore 
Murray alone remained of those officers who might be said to have 
belonged to the old school.* Still, the new school was in no respect 

* Edward Preble was born in August, 17G1, at Portland, in the present state, then 
province, of Maine. His direct ancestor, Abraham Preble, lived in the colonies as early 
as 1C37. at least, and his father, Jedediah Preble, died at Portland in 1784, having held 
the rank of Brigadier General in the militia of the Revolution. Young Preble went 
early to sea and is said to have served as a midshipman, in the Massachu.Sftls state ship 
Protector, Captain Williams, in her hard-fought action with the Duff. He appears sub- 
sequently on board the 'Winthrt)p. Captain Little, a cruiser in the service of the same 
state, as her first lieutenant. In this capacity, he boarded and carried, in the Penobscot, 
a strong letter of marque, an exploit that, in its day, was thought to be little inferior to the 
capture of the Philadelphia. At the jjeacc of 1783, Mr. Preble, who was then but 
twenty-two, was compelled to retire to private life, though he carried with him a reputa- 
tion that was not forgotten. During the twelve or fourteen years that succeeded, Mr. 
Preble was employed in command of merchant vessels, increasing his nautical experi- 
ence, and improving his private circumstances. He also married. 

When the present navy was established, Mr. Preble entered it as one of the senior lieu- 
tenants. He is believed to have been the first of the 1st lieutenants ordered to the Con- 
stitution 44; and as the principle was laid down, that the officers of the frigates first built, 
should have relative rank agreeably to the seniority of their captains, this would have 
made Mr. Preble the .second lieutenant in the navy. He did not remain lonir in the Con- 
stitution, however, his name appearine' as early as 1798, in command of the Pickering 14. 
The commission of lieutenant connnandant, isknown to have beiui issued during the war 
with France, and Mr. Preble's name standing in the reports of the day as a lieutenant 
commandant ho is believed to have hold it. On the l.")th of May, 17!)!), Mr. Preblo was 
raised to the rank of captain, without having passed by that of master-commandant. He 
was .shortly after appointed to theE.sscx 32, of which ship he was the first commander. 
While in the Essex, he cruised as far as the East Indies, returning home about tlie time 
peace was restored. No opportunity occurred for Captain Preble to distinguish himself 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 39 

inferior ; and in some particulars, it was greatly the superior of that 
which had gone before it. The vessels, generally, were good ships 
of their respective classes, and the officers, as a body, were every way 
worthy to take charge of them. Several of those who had been 
retained as midshipmen, after the war with France, were already 
commanders, and the vessels beneath the rate of frigates, with one 
exception, were commanded by gentlemen of tliis description. The 
exception was in the case of the Wasp 18, on board which ship was 
Captain Jones, who had been the youngest of the lieutenants retain- 
ed in 1801, and who was now nearly the oldest mastei'-commandant. 
He had joined the service, however, as a midshipman. 

If the naval armaments made by the country, under the prospect 
of a war with Great Britain, are to be regarded with the eyes of pru- 
dence, little more can be said, than to express astonishment at the 
political infatuation which permitted the day of preparation to pass 
unheeded. Still a little was done, and that little it is our duty to 
record. 

Early in 1809, the marine corps was augmented by an addition of 
near 700 men, which probably put this important branch of the navy, 
on a footing equal to the rest of the service, as it then exitted ; the 
entire corps containing about 1300 men when full. On the 30th of 
March, 1812, or less than three months previously to' the war with 
England, Congress authorised the President to cause three addi- 
tional frigates to be put in service, and the sum of $200,000 annually 
was appropriated for the purchase of timber to rebuild the three 
frigates that had been permitted to decay, and the one that had been 
captured. 

When the amount of these appropriations is considered, the con- 
clusion would seem inevitable, that the government did not at all 
anticipate hostilities, were it not for the more ample preparations that 
were making on land, and the large sums that had been expended 
on gun-boats. It is not improbable, therefore, that those to whom 
the direction of affiurs was confided, believed the naval force of the 
country too insignificant, and that of Great Britain too overwhelm- 
in this war. In 1803, Captain Preble lioisted his broad pennant on board the Constitu- 
tion, as rommander of the Mediterranean squadron. His services in that imjiortant sta- 
tion, are already related in the body of the work. 

Commodore {"reble suffered much from ill health, and after his return home, he was 
employed in the command of a navy yard. He died Aua^ust the 25th, 1807. 

The name of Preble will always be associated with the reputation of the American 
navy. He vv-as the first officer who ever commanded a series of active military opera- 
tions, in squadron, ai?ainst an enemy, unless the irresular and anomalous cruise of Paul 
Jones entitled him to that distinction ; none of the other commands, during^ the two pre- 
vious wars, partaking exactly of this character. In addition to this advantage, Connno- 
dore Preble had high professional qualities. Although, personally, far from being a. 
favourite with those under his orders, he possessed the perfect respect, and entire obedi- 
ence of his subordinates. His discipline was high-toned, and his notions of the duties of 
an inferior, were of the most rigid kind. On one occasion, he is known to have sternly 
rebuked an officer for covering and protecting a bombard against an attempt to cut her 
off, because it was done without a signal from the flagship. He was, however, gener- 
ous and liberal in his appreciation of merit, and quite ready to do justice to all who de- 
served his commendations. As he died at the early age of 45, tlie country lost many 
years of service that it had expected ; and Commodore Preble himself in all probability, 
much renown that one of his character would have been likely to gain in the war that 
succeeded. 



40 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

ing, to render any serious efforts to create a marine, at that late hour, 
expedient. A comparison of the naval forces of Great IJrilain and 
the United States, with their respective conditions, will render this 
idea plausible, although it may not fully justify it, as a measure of 
policy. 

In 1812, the navy of Great Britain nominally contained a thou- 
sand and sixty sail, of which between seven and eii^ht hundred were 
efficient cruising vessels. France had no fleets to occupy this great 
marine, Spain was detached from the alliance against England, the 
north of Europe no longer required a force to watch it, and Great 
Britain might direct at once, towards the American coast, as many 
ships as the nature of the war could possibly demand. 

As opposed to this unexampled naval power, America had on her 
list the following vessels, exclusively of gun-boats, viz : 



Constitution 


44, 


John Adams 


28, 


President 


44, 


Wasp 


18, 


United States 


44, 


Hornet 


18, 


Congress 


38, 


Argus 


IG, 


Cobstellation 


38, 


Siren 


IG, 


'Chesapeake 


38, 


Oneida 


16, 


Ne\lj York 


36, 


Vixen 


14, 


Essex 


32, 


Nautilus 


14, 


Adams 


28, 


Enterprise 


14, 


Boston 


28, 


Viper 


12. 



Of these vessels, the New York 36, anvl Boston 28, were unsea- 
worthy, and the Oneida 16, was on Lake Ontario. The remainder 
were efficient for their rates, though the Adams required extensive 
repairs before she could be sent to sea. It follows that America was 
about to engaofe in a war with much the greatest maritime power 
that the v/orld ever saw. possessing herself but seventeen cruising 
vessels on the ocean, of which nine were of a class less than frigates. 
At this time the merchant vessels of the United States were spread 
over the face of the entire earth. No other instance can be found of 
so great a stake in shipping with a protection so utterly inadtupnite. 

If any evidence were wanting to show how much facts precede 
opinion in America, it would be amply fin-nished in this simple state- 
ment. Throughout the whole of the events we have been required 
to record, we have seen that the navy has followed the exiuencies 
of the state, or the absolute demands of necessity, instead of having' 
been created, fostered, and extended, as the cheapest, most eflicient, 
and least onerous means of defence, that a inition so situated could 
provide. 

In addition to her vast superiority in ships, Great Britain |)ossessed 
her islands in the West Indies, Bermuda, and Halifax, as jiorls for 
refitting, and places of refuge for prizes, while, on tin; !)art of. Amer- 
ica, though there were luimerous ports, all were liable to be blockad- 
ed the moment an enemy might choose to send a force of two line- 
of-battle ships and one friiiate to any given point ; for it is not to be 
concealed that three two-decked ships could have driven the whole 
of the public cruising marine of America before them, at the time of 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 41 

whicJi we are writing. Such was the condition of a great maritime 
people, on tlie eve of a serious war, and in defiance of tlie experience 
of a struggle, in which the men in power had been prominent actors ! 

There can be but one manner of accounting for this extraordinary 
state of tilings, that already mentioned of the belief of the impossi- 
bility of keeping vessels at sea, in face of the overwhelming force of 
Great Britain. It is in corroboration of this opinion, that a project is 
said to have been entertained by the cabinet of laying up all the v^es- 
sels in ordinary, with a view to prevent them from falling into the 
hands of the enemy. This step would have been a death-blow to 
the navy, for the people would have been perfectly justifiable in refus- 
ing to su|)port a marine, that was intended solely for peace. It is 
affirmed that this resolution was only prevented by the interference 
of two officers of the service, who happened to be at the seat of gov- 
ernment when the subject was under discussion. These gentlemen* 
are said to have made a vigorous written remonstrance against the 
scheme, and by means of their representations to have induced the 
cabinet to change its policy. 

Under ordinary circumstances the intention just stated, would 
have been indicative of great feebleness of action, and of a narrow- 
ness of views, that was entirely unsuited to the characters of states- 
men. But the circumstances were extraordinary. Not only was the 
marine of Great Britain much the most powerful of any in the world, 
but it was more powerful than those of all the rest of Christendom 
united. In addition to its actual physical force, it had created for 
itself a moral auxiliary that was scarcely less available in practice 
than its guns and men. The reputation of invincibility was very 
generally attached to an English man-of-war, and perhaps no peo- 
ple gave England more ample credit for every species of superiority, 
whether physical or moral, that she claimed for herself, than those 
of the United States of America. The success of the British navy 
was indisputable, and as few Americans then read books, or journals, 
in foreign tongues, while scarcely a newspaper appeared without its 
columns containing some tribute to British glory, it would not be easy 
to portray the extent of the feeling, or the amount of the credulity 
that generally existed on such subjects. 

That the officers of the navy should, in a great degree, be superior 
to this dependent feeling was natural. They had enjoyed means of 
comparison that were denied the bulk of their fellow-citizens, and 

'Captains Bainbridge and Stewart. These two officers were shown orders to Com- 
modore Rodgers not to nuit New York, but to keep the vessels in port to form a part of 
its harbour defence. They sought an interview with the Secretary, who was influenced 
by tlieir representations, and who procured for them an audience of the President. Mr. 
Aladiwn listened to the representations of the two captains, v^-ith attention, and observed 
that the experience of the Revolution confirmed their opinions. The cabinet was con- 
vened, but it adhered to its former advice. Captains Bainbridge and Stewart, then ad- 
dressed a strong letter to the President, who took on b.imself to change the plan. It is 
said, that one or two of the cabinet acceded to this decision, on the ground that the ships 
would soon be taken, and that the country would thus be rid of the cost of maintaining 
ihem, and at more liberty to direct its energies to the army. It is no more than just to 
state, that Mr. Gallatin, the only survivor of that cabinet, asserts his utter ignorance of 
any such plan. On the other hand, there is uood proof that such a project did exist in 
the Department, and of the interference of the t%\o officers named. 



42 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

the result had taught them more confidence in themselves. They 
knew that their ships were at least as jjood as those of England, that 
they sailed as fast, were worked as well, and, in every essential on 
which a seaman prides himself, that England could justly claim no 
other superiority than that which might be supposed to belong to her 
greater experience in naval warfare. Against this odds, they were 
willing to contend. Not so with the nation. Notwithstanding the 
best dispositions on the part of a vast majority of the American peo- 
ple, tlie conviction was general that an American vessel of war would 
contend against an English vessel of war whh very few chances of 
success. After making every allowance for equality in all the other 
essentials, the great point of practice was against the former, and the 
confidence produced by a thousand victories, it was believed, would 
prove more available than zeal or courage. 

It is not as easy to describe the feeling on the other side. Among 
the young officers of the British navy it is pretty safetosay that a notion 
of overwhelming superiority was very generally prevalent, but among, 
the older men there were many who had studied the American 
cruisers with observant eyes, and a few who still recollected the war 
of the Revolution, when ill-equipped, uncoppered and half-manned 
ships, had rendered victory dear, and, not unfrequently, defeat cer- 
tain. The journals of Great Britain indulged in that coarse and im- 
politic abuse, which had probably done more towards raising a hos- 
tile feeling throughout Christendom against their nation, than any , 
political injustice, or political jealousies ; and the few ships of the 
American navy did not escape their sneers and misrepresentations. 
One of the very last of the vessels they attempted to hold up to the 
derision of Europe was the Constitution, a frigate that was termed 
" a bunch of pine boards," sailing " under a bit of striped bunting." 
As indecorous as was this language, and as little worthy as it might 
be to excite feeling, or comment, America was too keenly alive to 
English opinion, to hear it with indiflference, and the day was at hand 
when she exultingly threw back these terms of reproach, with taunts 
and ridicule almost as unbecoming as the gibes that had provoked 
them. 

Thei-e is little doubt that even the friends of the navy looked for- 
ward to the conflict with distrust, while the English felt a confidence 
that, of itself, was one step towai'ds victory. 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 43 



CHAPTER IV. 

War declared against England — Vessels sail on a cruise — Chase of ibe Belvidera36 ; 
and action with that ship— Cruise of Com. Rodgers—Constitutiou sails under Capt. 
Hull— Her brilliant escape from an English sqaadron— Essex 32, Capt. Porter, sails on 
a cruise — captures the Alert 15 — Constitution captures the Guerriere — Effect of the vic- 
tory — Promotion of Lt. Morris to be a captain. 

Allusion has been made to the events which led to hostilities 
between America and Enjrland, though they belong to the political 
rather than to the naval history of the country. In the winter of 
1812, a plot on the part of English agents, to sever the American 
Union, was revealed to tlie government ; and, at a later day, the de- 
termination of the English ministry to adhere to her orders in coun- 
cil, was formally communicated to the President. At the same time, 
the claim to impress English seamen out of American ships on the 
high seas, was maintained in theory, while in practice, the outrage 
was constantly extended to natives ; the boarding officers acting, in 
effect, on the unjust and perfectly illegal principle, that the seaman 
who failed to prove that he was an American, should be seized as an 
Englishman. Owing to these united causes. Congress formally 
declared war against the King of Great Britain, on the 18th of 
June, 1812. 

At the moment when this important intelhgence was made public, 
nearly all of the little American marine were either in port, or were 
cruising in the immediate vicinity of the coast. But a single ship, 
the Wasp 18, Captain Jones, was on foreign service, and she Avas 
on her return from Europe with despatches. It is, however, some 
proof that the government expected nothing more from its navy than 
a few isolated exploits, that could produce no great influence on the- 
main results of the contest, that the force the country actually pos- 
sessed was not collected, and ordered to act in a body, during the 
short period that it would possess the advantage of assailing the en- 
emy, while the latter was ignorant of the existence of hostilities. A 
squadron of three twenty-four-pounder frigates, of as many eighteen- 
pounder vessels of the same class, and of eight or ten smaller cruisers, 
all effective, well manned, and admirably officered, might have been 
assembled, with a due attention to preparation. The enemy had 
but one two-decker, an old 64, on the American coast ; and the force 
just mentioned was quite sufficient to have blockaded both Ilalifa.x 
and Bermuda, for a month ; or until the English received the intel- 
ligence of the war, and had time to reinforce from the West Indies. 
It has been said, that several hundred homeward-bound American 
vessels were at sea, at that moment, and in the event of a few strag- 
gling cruisers of the enemy's making prizes on the coast, there would 
have been no port at hand, into which they could have been sent, 
and a large proportion would probably have been recaptured by the 
American privateers that immediately covered the adjacent seas. 
Had the British cruisers collected, as indeed they did, under the im 



44 NAA^^AL HISTOPtV. [1812. 

pression that some such pohcy would be pursued, it would have been 
easy to destroy them, or at least to drive them into port, when the 
same end would have been obtained in a different form. 

But the declaration of war did not find the little marine of Ameri- 
ca in a condition to act in this combined, intelligent, and military 
manner. The vessels were scattered ; some were undergoing 
repairs, others were at a distance ; and w;ith the exception of one 
small squadron, every thing was virtually committed to the activity, 
judgment, aud enterprise of the different captains. In the port of 
New York, were collected the President 44, Commodore Rodgers ; 
Essex 3:2, Captain Porter ; and Hornet 18, Captain Lawrence. 
These vessels were ready to sail at an hour's notice, except the 
Essex, which ship was overhauling her riggiug, and restowing her 
hold. Commodore Rodgers had dropped into the bay, with the 
President and Hornet, where he was joined by the United States 44, 
Commodore Decatur, Congress 38, Captain Smith, and Argus 16, 
Lieutenant Commandant Sinclair, all of which vessels arrived from 
the southward on the 21st of Juue. 

Information had been received of the sailing of a large fleet of 
Jamaica-men, under protection of a strong force ; and as these ves- 
sels would naturally be sweeping along the American coast, in the 
gulf stream, it was determined to make a dash at this convoy, — as 
judicious a plan, under the circumstances, as could then have been 
adopted. Within an hour after he had received official information 
of the declaration of war, together with his orders, Commodore 
Rodgers was under way. 

The squadron passed Sandy Hook on the afternoon of the 21st of 
June, and ran oft" south-east. That night an American was spoken 
that had seen the Jamaica ships, and sail was instantly crowded in 
pursuit. On the 23d, however, at 6 A. M., a vessel was seen to the 
northward and eastward, which was soon made out to be an enemy's 
frigate, and a general chase took place. The wind was fresh for the 
greater part of the day, and the enemy standing before it, the Presi- 
dent, an uncommonly fast ship off' the wind, soon gained, not only 
on the stranger, but on the rest of the squadron. About 4 P. M., 
she was within gun-shot of the chase, but the wind had unfortunately 
fallen, and the American ships being just out of port, and deep, their 
greater comparative weight, under such circumstances, gave the en- 
emy an advantage. Perceivingbutvery faint hopes of getting along- 
side of the stranger, unless he could be crippled. Commodore Rodg- 
ers determined now to open on liim, with his chase-guns. With this 
view, that officer went forward, himself, to direct the cannonade, and 
about half past 4, the forecastle gun was discharged. This was the 
first hostile shot fired afloat in the war of 1812, and the gun is un- 
derstood to have been pointed by Commodore Rodgers in person.* 
The shot struck the chase in the rudder-coat, and drove through the 
stern frame into the gun-room. The next gun was fired from the 
first division below, and was pointed and discharged by Mr. Gamble, 

•As all the guns, at that time, went with locks, it is also probable that he polled the 
lanyard. 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY, 45 

the second lieutenant, wlio commanded the battery. The shot struck 
the muzzle of one of the enemy's stern chasers, which it damaged. 
Commodore Rodgers fired the third shot, which struck tlie stern of 
the chase, killed two men, badly wounded two more, and slightly 
wounded a lieutenant and two others. Mr. Gamble again fired, when 
the gun burstcd. The shot flew broad oft' on the President's bow, 
and the explosion killed and wounded sixteen men. The forecastle 
deck was blown up, and Commodore Rodgers was thrown into the 
air, breaking a leg by the fall. The accident prevented the guns of 
that side from being used for some time. The pause enabled the 
enemy to open from four stern guns, otherwise he would have soon 
been driven from the after part of his ship. The fire of the chase 
was spirited and good, one of his shot plunging on the President's 
deck, killing a midshipman, and one or two men. The President 
shortly after began to yaw, with a view to cut away some of the 
chase's spars, and her fire soon compelled the latter to lighten. The 
enemy cut away his anchors, stove his boats and threw them over- 
board, and started fourteen tons of water. By these means he drew 
alkead, when about 7 o'clock the President hauled up, and as a last 
resort, fired three broadsides, most of the shot of which fell short. 

Finding it impossible to get any nearer to the enemy, without ren- 
dering his own ship inefficient for a cruise, by lightening. Commo- 
dore Rodgers ordered the pursuit to be finally abandoned, about 
midnight. It was afterwards known, that the vessel chased was the 
Belvidera 3G, Captain Byron, who deservedly gained much credit 
fof the active manner in which he saved his ship. The Belvidera 
got into Halifax a few days later, carrying with her the news of the 
declaration of war. The President had twenty-two men killed and 
wounded on this occasion, sixteen of whom suffered by the bursting 
of the gun. Among the former, was the midshipman mentioned ; 
and among the latter, Mv. Gamble. The loss of the Belvidera was 
stated at seven killed and wounded by shot, and several others by 
accidents, Captain Byron included. She also suffered materially in 
her spars, sails, and ringing; while the injuries of this nature, 
received by the President, were not serious. 

The squadron now hauled up to its course, in pursuit of the 
•Tanmica-men ; and, from time to time, intelligence was obtained 
from American vessels, of the course the fleet was steering. On the 
1st of July, the pursuing ships fell in with large quantities of the 
shells of cocoa-nuts, orange-peels, «fcc. &c., which gave an assurance 
that they had struck the wake of the Englishmen. This was a little 
to the eastward of the Banks of Newfoundland, and the strongest 
hopes were entertained of comino' up with the fleet before it could 
reach the channel. On the 9th of July, an English letter of marque 
was captured by the Hornet, Captain Lawrence, and her master 
reported that he had seen the Jamaica vessels the previous evening, 
under the convoy of a two-decked ship, a frigate, a sloop of war, and 
a brig. He had counted eighty-five sail. All possible means were 
now used to force the squadron ahead, but without success, no fur- 
ther information having been received of the fleet. The chase was 

VOL. II. 3 



46 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

continued until the 13th, when, being within a day's run of the chops 
of the channel, Commodore Rodgers stood to the southward, passing 
Madeira, and going into Boston by the way of the Western Islands 
and the Grand Banks. 

Tiiis cruise was singularly unfortunate, for such a moment, 
although the ships were kept in the direct tracks of vessels in cross- 
ing the ocean, each time. Seven merchantmen were taken, how- 
ever, and one American was recaptured. The squadron was absent 
on this service seventy days. 

The report of the Belvidera induced the enemy to collect as many 
of his vessels in squadron, as possible; and a force consisting of the 
Africa 64, Captain Bastard ; Shannon 38, Captain Broke ; Guer- 
riere 38, Cai)tain Dacres ; Belvidera 36, Captain Byron ; and /Eolus 
33, Captain Lord James Townsend, was soon united, in the hope of 
falling in with Commodore Rodgers. Of this squadron. Captain 
Broke, of the Shannon, was the senior officer. It appeared off New 
York early in July, where it made several captures. The Nautilus 
14, Lieutenant Commandant Crane, had arrived in the port of New 
York, shortly after the squadron of Commodore Rodgers sailed ; 
and this little brigwentout, with an intention of cruising in the track 
of the English Indiamen, at the unfortunate moment Avhen Commo- 
dore Broke appeared off the coast. The Nautilus got to sea quite 
early in July, and fell in with the British squadron the next day. A 
short, but vigorous chase succeeded, in which Mr. Crane threw over- 
board his lee-guns, and did all that a seaman could devise to escape, 
but the Nautilus buried, while the frigates of the enemy were enabled 
to carry every thing to advantage, and he struck to the Shannon. 
The Nautilus was the first vessel of war taken on either side, in this 
contest, and thus the service lost one of those cruisers, which had 
become endeared to it, and identified with its history, in connexion 
with the war before Tripoli.* The enemy took out the officers and 
people of their prize, threw a crew into her, and continued to cruise 
in the hope of meeting the American ships. Leaving them thus em- 
ployed, it will now be necessary to return to port, in quest of another 
cruiser to occupy their attention. 

The Constitution 44, Captain Hull, had gone into the Chesapeake, 
on her return from Europe, and, shipping a new crew, on the 12th 
of July she sailed from Annapolis, and stood to the northward. So 
rapidly was her equipment procured, that her first lieutenant joined 
her only a fortnight before she sailed, and a draft of a hundred men 
was received on the evening of the lltli. Friday, July the 17th, the 
ship was out of sight of land, though at no great distance from the 
coast, with a lij^ht breeze from the N. E., and under easy canvass. 
At 1, she sounded in 22 fathoms; and about an hour afterwards, 
four sail were made in the northern board, heading to the westward 
At 3, the Constitution made sail, and tacked in 18i fathoms. At 4, 
she discovered a fifth sail to the northward and eastward, which had 

■"The Enterprise, Nautilus, and Vixen, were ori2:inally sebnoners, but tbey bad nil 
been Haired into bris-s, previously to ibc war of IPIO. TIh^ ?H;iutil(i^:, it will be rcmem 
bered, was the vessel conmiandod by the regretted and chivalrous Sonicrs. 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 47 

the appearance of a vessel of war. This ship subsequently proved to 
be the Guerriere38, Captain Daeres. By this time, the other four 
sail were made out to be three ships and a brig ; they bore N. N. W., 
and were all on the starboard tack, apparently in company. The 
wind now became very light, and the Constitution hauled up her 
main-sail. The ship in the eastern board, however, had so far 
altered her position bj 6, as to bear E. N. E., the wind having hith- 
erto been fair for her to close. But at a quarter past 6, the wind 
came out light at the southward, bringing the American ship to wind- 
ward. The Constitution now wore round with her head to the east- 
ward, set her light studding-sails and stay-sails, and at half past 7, 
beat to quarters, and cleared for action, with the intention of speak- 
ing the nearest vessel. 

The wind continued very light at the southward, and the two ves- 
sels were slowly closing until 8. At 10, the Constitution shortened 
sail, and immediately after she showed the private signal of the day. 
After keeping the lights aloft near an hour, and getting no answer 
from the Guerriere, the Constitution, at a quarter past 11, lowered 
the signal, and made sail again, hauling aboard her starboard tacks. 
During the whole of the middle watch the wind was very hght, from 
the southward and westward. Just as the morning watch was called, 
the Guerriere tacked, then wore entirely round, threw a rocket, and 
fired two guns. As the day opened, three sail were discovered on 
the starboard quarter of the Constitution, and three more astern. At 
5 A. M., a fourth vessel was seen astern. 

This was the squadron of Commodore Broke, which had been 
gradually closing with the American frigate during the night, and 
was now just out of gun-shot. As the ships slowly varied their posi- 
tions, when the mists were entirely cleared away, the Constitution 
had two frigates on her lee quarter, and aship of the line, two frigates, 
a brig and a schooner astern. The names of the enemy's ships 
have already been given ; but the brig was the Nautilus, and the 
schooner another prize. AH the strangers had English colours flying. 

It now fell quite calm, and the Constitution hoisted out her boats, 
and sent them ahead to tow, with a view to keep the ship out of the 
reach of the enemy's shot. At the same time, she whipt up one of 
the gun-deck guns to the spar-deck, and run it out aft, as a stenl 
chaser, getting a long eighteen off" the forecastle also for a similar 
purpose. Two more of the twenty-fours below were run out at the 
cabin windows, with the same object, though it was found necessary 
to cut away some of the wood-work of the stern frame, in order to 
make room. 

By G o'clock the wind, which continued very light and baffling, 
came out from tlie northward of west, when the ship's head was got 
round to the southward, and all the lightcanvass that would draw was 
set. Soon after, the nearest frigate, the Shannon, opened with her 
bow guns, and continued firing tor about ten minutes, but perceiving 
she could not reach the Constitution, she ceased. At half past 6, 
Captain Hull sounded in 2G fathoms, when finding that the enemy 
was likely to close, as he was enabled to put the boats of two ships on 



NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 



one, and was also favoured by a little more air than the Constitution, 
all the spare rope that could be found, and which was fit for the pur- 
))0se, w/as payed down into tlie cutters, bent on, and a kedge was 
run out near half a mile ahead, and let go. At a signal given, the 
crew clapped on, and walked away with the ship, overrunning and 
tripping the kedge as she came up with the end of the line. While 
this was doing, fresh lines and another kedge was carried ahead, and, 
though out of sight of land the frigate glided away from her pursuers, 
before they discovei'^d tlie manner in which it was done. It was not 
long, however before the enemy resorted to the same expedient. At 
half past?, the Constitution had a little air, when she set her ensign, 
and fired a shot at the Shannon, the nearest ship astern. At 8, it 
fell calm again, and further recourse was had to the boats and the 
kedges, the enemy's vi^els having a light air, and drawinff ahead, 
towing, sweeping, and kedging. By 9, the nearest frigate, the Shan- 
non, on which the English had put most of their boats, was closing 
fast, and there was every prospect, notwithstanding the steadiness 
and activity of the Constitution's people, that the frigate just men- 
tioned would get near enough to cripple her, when her capture by 
the rest of the squadron would be inevitable. At this trying moment 
the best spirit prevailed in the ship. Every thing was stoppered, and 
Captain Hull was not without hopes, even should he be forced into 
action, of throvvins: the Shannon astern by his fire, and of maintain- 
ing his distance from the other vessels. It was known that the ene- 
my could not tow very near, as it would have been easy to sink his 
boats with the stern guns of the Constitution, and not a man in the 
latter vessel showed a disposition to despondency. Officers and men 
relieved each other regularly at the duty, and while the former threw 
themselves down on deck to catch short naps, the people slept at 
their guns. 

This was one of the most critical moments of the chase. The 
Shannon was fest closing, as has been just stated, while tlie Guer- 
riere was almost as near on the larboard quarter. An hour promised 
to bring the struggle to an issue, when suddenly, at 9 minutes past 9, 
a light air from the soutlnvard struck the ship, bringing her to wind- 
ward. The beautiful manner in which this advantage was improved, 
excited admiration even in the enemy. As the breeze was seen com- 
ing, the ship's sails were trimmed, and as soon as she was under com- 
mand, she was brought close up to the wind, on the larboard tack ; 
the boats were all dropped in alongside ; those that belonged to the 
davits were run up, while the others were just lifted clear of the 
water, by purchases on the spare outboard spars, where they were 
in readiness to be used at a moment's notice. As the ship came by 
the wind, she brought the Guerriei'e nearly on her lee beam, when 
that frigate opened a fire from her broadside. While the shot of this 
vessel were just falling short of them, the people of the Constitution 
were hoisting up their boats with as much steadiness as if the duty 
was performing in a friendly port. In about an hour, however, it 
fell nearly calm again, when captain Hull ordered a quantity of the 
water started, to lighten the ship. More than two thousand gallons 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 49 

were pumped out, and the boats were sent ahead again to tow. The 
enemy now put nearly all his boats on the Shannon, the nearest shin 
astern ; and a few hours of prodigious exertion followed, the people 
of the Constitution l)eing compelled to supply the place of numbers 
by their activity and zeal. The ships were close by the wind, and 
every thing that would draw was set, and the Shannon was slowly, 
but steadily, forging ahead. About noon of this day, there was a 
little relaxation from labour, owing to the occasional occurrence of 
cat's-paws, by watching which closely, the ship was urged through 
the water. But at quarter past 13, the boats were again sent ahead, 
and the toilsome work of towing and kedging was renewed. 

At 1 o'clock a strange sail was discovered nearly to leeward. At 
this moment the four frigates of the enemy were about one point on 
the lee-quarter of the Constuufion, at long gun-shot, the Africa and 
the two prizes being on the lee-beam. As the wind was constantly 
baffling, any moment might have brought a change, and placed the 
enemy to windward. At seven minutes before two, the Belvidera, 
then the nearest ship, began to fire with her bow guns, and the Con- 
stitution opened with her stern chasers. On board the latter ship, 
however, it was soon found to be dangerous to use the main-deck 
guns, the transoms having so much rake, the window being so high, 
and the guns so short, that every explosion lifted the upper deck, and 
threatened to blowout the stern frame. Perceiving, moreover, that 
his shot did little or no execution. Captain Hull ordered the firing to 
cease at half past 2. 

For several hours, the enemy's frigates were now within gun-shot, 
sometimes towing and kedging, and at others endeavouring to close 
with the puffs of air that occasionally passed. At 7 in the evening, 
the boats of the Constitntio-n were again ahead, the ship steering S. 
W. i W., with an air so light as to be almost imperceptible. At half 
past 7, she sounded in 24 fathoms. For hours, the same toilsome 
duty was going on, until a little before 11, when a light air from the 
southward struck the ship, and the sails for the first time in many 
weary hours were asleep. The boats instantly dropped alongside, 
hooked on, and were all run up, tvith the exception of the first cutter. 
The topgallant studding-sails and stay-sails were set as soon as pos- 
sible, and for about an hour, the people caught a little rest. 

Bur at midnight it fell nearly calm again, though neither the pur- 
suers nor the pursued had recourse to the boats, probably from au 
unw illingness to disturb their crews. At 2 A.M., it was observed on 
board the Constitution that the Guerriere had forged ahead, and was 
again off' their lee beam. At thistime, the top-gallant studding-sails 
were taken in. 

In this manner passed the night, and on the morning of the next 
day, it was found that three of the enemy's frigates were within long 
gun shot on the lee-quartcr, and the other at aboutthe same distance 
on the lee-beam. The Africa, and the prizes were much further to 
leewfird. 

A little after daylight, the Guerriere, having drawn ahead suffi- 
ciently to be forward of the Constitution's beam, tacked, when the 



50 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

latter ship did tlie same, in order to preserve her position to wind- 
ward. An hour later the ^Eolus passed on the contrary tack, so near 
that it was thought by some who observed the movement, that she 
ought to have opened her fire ; but, as that vessel was merely a 
twelve-pounder frigate, and she was still at a considerable distance, 
it is quite probable her commander acted judiciously. By this time, 
there was sufficieiit wind to induce Captain Hull to hoist in his first 
cutter. 

The scene, on the morning of this day, was very beautiful, and of 
great interest to the lovers of nautical exhibitions. The weather was 
mild and lovely, the sea smooth as a pond, and there was quite wind 
enough to remove the necessity of any of the extraordinary means 
of getting ahead, that had been so freely used durino- the previous 
eight- and-forty hours. All the English vessels had got on the same 
tack with the Constitution again, and the five frigates were clouds of 
canvass, from their trucks to the water. Including the American 
ship, eleven sail were in sight, and shortly after a twelfth appeared 
to windward, that was soon ascertained to be an Anierican merchant- 
man. But the enemy were too intent on the Constitution to regard 
any thing else, and though it would have been easy to capture t-he 
ships to leeward, no attention appears to have been paid to them. 
With a view, however, to deceive the ship to windward they hoisted 
American colours, when the Constitution set an English ensign, by 
way of warning the stranger to keep aloof. 

Until 10 o'clock the Constitution was making every preparation 
for carrying sail hard should it become necessary, and she sounded 
in 25 fathoms. At noon the wind fell again, though it was found 
that while the breeze lasted, she had gained on all the enemy's ships; 
more, however on some, than on others. The nearest vessel was the 
Belvidera, which was exactly in the wake of the Constitution, distant 
about two and a half miles, bearing "VV. N. W. The nearest frigate 
to leeward, bore N. by W. J W. distant three or three and a half 
miles ; the two other frigates were on the lee-quarter, distant about 
five miles, and the Africa was hull down to leeward, on the opposite 
tack. 

This was a vast improvement on the state of things that had ex- 
isted the day previous, and it allowed the officers and men to catch a 
little rest, though no one left the decks. The latitude by observa- 
tion this day, vv'as 38''-^ 47' N., and the longitude by dead reckoning 
730 57' W. 

At meridian the wind began to blow a pleasant breeze, and the 
sound of the water rippling under the bows of the vessel was again 
heard. From this moment the noble old ship slowly drew ahead of 
all her pursuers, the sails being watched and tended in the best man 
ner that consummate seamanship could dictate, until 4, P. M., when 
the Belvidera was more than four miles astern, and the other vessels 
were thrown behind in the same proportion, though the wind had 
again got to be very light. 

In this manner both parties kept passing ahead and to windward, 
as fixst as cu'cumstanccs would allow, profiting by every change, and 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 51 

resorting- to all the means of Ibrcing vessels through the water, that 
are known to seamen. At a little before 7, however, there was every 
appearance of a heavy squall, accompanied by rain ; when the Con- 
sthulion prepared to meet it with the coolness and discretion she had 
displayed throughout the whole affair. The people were stationed, 
and every thing was kept fast to the last moment, when, just before 
the squall struck the ship, the order was given to clew up and clew 
down. All the light canvass was furled, a second reef was taken in 
the mizen topsail, and the ship was brought under short sail, in an 
incredibly little time. The English vessels, observing this, began to 
let go and haul down without waiting for the wind, and when they 
were shut in by the rain, they were steering in different directions to 
avoid the force of the expected squall. The Constitution, on the 
other hand, no sooner got its weight, than she sheeted home and 
hoisted her fore and main-topgallant sails, and while the enemy most 
probably believed her to be borne down by the pressure of the wind, 
steering free, she was Hying away from them, on an easy bowline, at 
the rate of eleven knots. 

In ahttle less than an hour after the squall struck the ship, it had 
entirely passed to leeward, and a sight was again obtained of the 
enemy. The Belvidera, the nearest vessel, had altered her bearings 
in that short period two points more to leeward, and she was a long 
way astern. The next nearest vessd was still farther to leeward, 
and more distant, while the two remaining frigates were ffiirly hull 
down. The Africa was barely visible in the horizon ! 

All apprehensions of the enemy now ceased, though sail was car- 
ried to increase the distance, and to preserve the weather gage. At 
half past 10 the wind backed further to the southward, when the 
Constitution, which had been steering free for some time, took in 
her lower studding-sails. At 11 the enemy fired two guns, and the 
nearest ship could just be discovered. As the wind baffled, and con- 
tinued light, the enemy still persevered in the chase, but at daylight 
the nearest vessel was hull down astern and to leeward. Under the 
circumstances it was deemed prudent to use every exertion to lose 
sight of the English frigates ; and the wind falling light, the Constitu- 
tion's sails were wet down from the skysails to the courses. The good 
effects of this care were soon visible, as at 6 A. M. the topsails of the 
enemy's nearest vessels were beginning to dip. At a quarter past 8, 
the English ships all hauled to the northward and eastward, fully 
satisfied, by a trial that had lasted nearly three days and as many 
nights, under all the circumstances that can attend naval manoeu- 
vres, from reefed topsails to kedging, that they had no hope of over- 
taking their enemy. ^ 

Thus terminated a chase, that has become historical in the Amer- 
ican navy, for its length, closeness, and activity. On the part of 
the English, there were manifested much perseverance and seaman- 
ship, a ready imitation, and a strong desire to get alongside of their 
enemy. But the glory of the affair was carried off by the officers 
and people of the Constitution. Throughout all the trying circum- 
stances of this arduous struggle, this noble frigate, which had so 



52 NAVAL HISTORY [1812. 

lately been the subject of the sneers of the Enghsh critics, main- 
tained the high character of a man-of-war. Even when pressed upon 
the hardest, nothing was luirried, confused, or slovenly, but the 
utmost steadiness, order, and discipline reigned in the ship. A cool, 
discreet, and gallant commander, was nobly sustained by his offi- 
cers ; and there cannot be a doubt that had the enemy succeeded in 
getting anv one of their frigates fairly under the fire of the x^merican 
ship, that she would have been very ]-oughly treated. The escape 
itself, is not so much a matter of admiration, as the manner in which 
it was effected. A little water was pumped out, it is true ; and per- 
haps this was necessary, in order to put a vessel fresh from port on a 
level, in light winds and calms, with ships that had been cruising 
some time ; but not an anchor was cut away, not a boat stove, nor 
a ffun lost. The steady and man-of-war like style in winch the Con- 
stitution took in all her boats, as occasions offered ; the order and 
rapidity with which she kedged, and the vigilant seamanship with 
which she was braced up, and eased off, extorted admiration among 
the more liberal of her pursuers. In this aflair, the ship, no less 
than those who worked her, gained a high reputation, if not with the 
world generally, at least with those who, perhaps, as seldom err in 
their nautical criticisms as any people living. 

The English relinquished the pursuit at 8 A. M., and at half past 
8 the Constitution, discovering a vessel on her starboard bow, made 
sail in chase. At three quarters past 9 brought to, and spoke an 
American brig. At 10 made sail again in chase of another vessel 
on the lee bow, which also proved to be an American, bound in. At 
meridian hoisted in the boat used in boarding, took a second reef in 
the topsails, and stood to the eastward, the ship going into Boston 
near the middle of the same month. 

A few days after the chase of the Constitution, the English squad- 
ron sepai'ated, the Africa returning to port with the prisoners and 
prizes, and the frigates shaping their courses in difterent directions, 
in the hope that the ship which had avoided them so carefully when 
in company, might be less averse to meeting either singly. 

The Essex 32, Captain Porter, got to sea from New York, not 
long after the departure of Commodore Rodgers, and went first to the 
southward. She made several prizes early, destroying most of them, 
and receiving the prisoners on board. The weather now compelled 
the Essex to run to the northward. When a few weeks from port, a 
small fleet was approached at night, which was immediately under- 
stood to be enemies. The English ships were steering to the north- 
ward, before the wind, and the Essex was stretching towards them, 
on an easy bowline, and under short canvass. The night had a dull 
moOn, and it wanted but an hour or two to daylight. As the Essex 
drew near, it was perceived that the English wci'e sailing in very open 
order, with considerable intervals between them, and that the con- 
voying ship, a large vessel, was some distance ahead, and of coiu'se 
to leeward. 

As it was the intention of Captain Porter to preserve the weather 
gage, until he ascertained who and what the convoy might be, he 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 53 

stretched in towards the stern most ship of the strangers, which he 
spoke. At this time, the people of the Essex were at their guns, 
with every thing ready to engage, but keeping the men on deck con- 
cealed, and having the lower ports in. After some conversation with 
the first vessel, it was ascertained that the fleet consisted of a few 
transports, under the convoy of a frigate and bomb-vessel, when 
Captain Porter determined to get alongside of the former, if possi- 
ble, and to carry her by surprise. With this view, the Essex shot 
ahead, leaving the first vessel, apparently, without exciting her sus- 
picions. On ranging up close abeam of a second, some further dis- 
course passed, when the Englishman so far took the alarm, as to an- 
nounce an intention to make the signal of a stranger's having joined 
the fleet. It became necessary, therefore, to throw aside disguise, 
and to order the transport to haul out of the convoy, under the pen- 
alty of being fired into. This was done quietly, and seemingly with- 
out attracting the attention of the rest of the fleet, which, of course, 
passed to leeward. On taking possession of her prize, the Essex 
found her filled with soldiers, and so much time was necessarily con- 
sumed in securing the latter, that the day dawned, and it became 
inexpedient to renew the attempt on the convoy. The frigate was 
said to be the Minerva 36, and the troops in the convoy amounted V 
to near 1000 men. About 150 were taken in the prize. 

A few days after this success, the Essex made a strange sail to 
windward. At the moment, the frigate was disjruised as a mer- 
chantman, having her gun-deck ports in, top-gallant masts housed, 
and sails trimmed in a slovenly manner. Deceived by these appear- 
ances, the stranger came running down free, when the American 
ship showed her ensign and kept away, under short sail. This 
emboldened the stranger, who followed, and having got on the 
weather quarter of his chase, he began his fire, setting English 
colours. The Essex now knocked out her ports, and opened upon 
the enemy, who appears to have been so much taken by surprise, 
that after receiving one or two discharges, his people deserted their 
quarters, and ran below. In eight minutes after the Essex had begun 
to fire, the English ship struck. On sending Lieutenant Finch* on 
board to take possession, the prize proved to be his Britannic 
Majesty's ship Alert, Captain Laugharne, mounting 20 eighteen- 
pound carronades, and with a full crew. Mr. Finch found seven 
feet of water in the Alert, and was obliged to ware round, to keep 
her from sinking. *" 

The Alert was the first vessel of war taken from the English in this 
contest, and her resistance was so feeble as to excite surprise. It 
was not to be expected, certainly, that a ship carrying eighteen-pound 
carronades, could successfully resist a ship carrying thirty-two-pound 
carron;ides, and double her number of guns and men ; but so 
exaggerated had become the opinion of the British prowess on the 
ocean, tliat impossibilities were sometimes looked for. As it is un- 
derstood that only a part of the Essex's guns bore on the Alert, the 

'Now Captain Boltou. 



54 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 



manner in which the latter was taken, must be attributed to a sudden 
panic among her people some of whom were censured after their 
exchange. Om or two of the officers even, did not escape, the first 
lieutenant having been dismissed the service, by a court-martial. 
The Alert had but three men wounded, and the Essex sustained no 
injury at all. 

Captain Porter, with the addition made by the crew of the Alert, 
had many prisoners, and as he was apprised of their intention to rise, 
in the event of an engagement, he felt the necessity of getting rid of 
them. He accordingly entered into an arrangement witli Captain 
Laugharne, to convert the Alert, which was a large ship bought for 
the service, into a cartel, and to send her into St. John's. This 
project, so favourable to the American interests, was successfully 
accomplished ; and it is due to his character to say, that the officer 
in command at Newfoundland, Admiral Sir J. T. Duckworth, while 
he protested against the course, as unusual and injurious to a nation 
like England, which had so many cruisers at sea, by depriving her 
of the chances of recapture, honourably complied with the conditions 
entered into by his inferior. 

The Essex continued to cruise to the southward of the Grand 
Banks. On two occasions, she fell in with enemy's frigates, and a* 
one time was so hard pressed, as to be reduced to the necessity of 
making every preparation to carry one by boarding in the night, 
since, another English vessel of war being in company, an engage- 
ment in the usual manner would have been indiscreet. The arrange- 
ments made on board the Essex, on this occasion, are still spoken 
of witli admiration, by those who were in the ship, and there is great 
reason to think they would have succeeded, had the vessels met. 
By some accident, that has never been explained, the ships passed 
each other in the darkness, and shortly after, the Essex came into 
the Delaware to replenish her water and stores. 

In the meanwhile, the Constitution was not idle. Remaining at 
Boston a short time after his celebrated chase. Captain Hull sailed 
again on the 2d of August, standing along the land to the eastward, 
in the liope of falling in witli some of the enemy's cruisers, that were 
thought to be hovering on the coast. The ship ran down, near the 
land, as far as the Bay of Fundy, without seeing any thing, when she 
went oft' Halifax and Cape Sable, M'ith the same want of success. 
Captain Hull now determined to go farther east, and he went near 
the Isle of Sables, and thCnce to the mouth of the Gulf of St. Law- 
I'ence, to intercept vessels bound to Halifax or Quebec. Here two 
prizes, of little value, were taken and burned. On the morning of 
the IStli, five sail were made, one of which was a sloop of war. The 
Constitution gave chase, and the enemy soon set one of his vessels, a 
prize brig, on fire. The chases now separated, and the sloop of war 
being to windward, the Constitution followed a shij), which turned 
out to be an Englishman, already a prize to an American privateer. 
This vessel had been spoken by the sloop of war, but the appearance 
of the Constitution prevented her i'ecaj)ture. A brig was next chased 
to leeward, and proved to be nn American, with a prize crew on 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 55 

board. She was retaken, and sent in. The remainder of the vessels 
escaped. 

The Constitution next stood to the southward, and on the 19th, 
at 2 P. M., in lat. 41° 41', long. 55° 48', a sail was made froni'the 
mast-heads, bearing E. S. E., and to leeward, though the distance 
prevented her character from being discovered. The Constitution 
immediately made sail in chase, and at 3, the stranger was ascer- 
tained to be a ship on the starboard tack, under easy canvass, and 
close hauled. Half an hour later, she was distinctly made out to be 
a frisate, and no doubt was entertained of her being an enemy. 
The Aujerican ship kept running free until she was within a league 
of the frigate to leeward, when she began to shorten sail. By this 
time, the enemy had laid his main-topsail aback, in waiting for the 
Constitution to come down, with every thing ready to engage. Per- 
ceiving that the Englishman sought a combat. Captain Hull made 
his own preparations with the greater deliberation. The Constitu- 
tion, consequently furled her topgallant-sails, and stowed all her light 
stay-sails and flying jib. Soon after, she took a second reef in the 
topsails, hauled up the courses, sent down royal yards, cleared for 
action, and beat to quarters. At 5, the chase hoisted three English 
ensigns, and immediately after she opened her Are, at long gun-shot, 
waring several times, to rake and prevent being raked. The Con- 
stitution occasionally yawed as she approached, to avoid being 
raked, and she fired a few guns as they bore, but her object was not 
to commence the action seriously, until quite close. 

At 6 o'clock, the enemy bore up and ran off, under his three top- 
sails and jib, with the wind on his quarter. As this was an indica- 
tion of a readiness to receive his antagonist, in a fair yard-arm and 
yard-arm fight, the Constitution immediately set her main-topgallant- 
sail and foresail, to get alongside. At a little after 6, the bows of the 
American frigate began to double on the quarter of the English ship, 
when she opened with her forward guns, drawing slowly ahead, 
with her greater way, both vessels keeping up a close and heavy fire, 
as their guns bore. In about ten minutes, or just as the ships were 
fairly side by side, the mizen-mast of the Englishman was shot 
away, when the American passed slowly ahead, keeping up a tre- 
mendous fire, and luffed short round on her bows, to prevent beino- 
raked. In executing this manoeuvre, the ship shot into the wind, cot 
sternway, and fell foul of her antagonist. While in this situation, 
the cabin of the Constitution took fire from the close explosion of the 
forward guns of the enemy, who obtained a small, but momentary 
advantage from his position. The good conduct of Mr. Hoff"man,* 
who commanded in the cabin, soon repaired this accident, and a gun 
of the enemy's that threatened further injury, was disabled. 

As the vessels touched, both parties prepared to board. The Eng- 
lish turned all hands up from below, and mustered forward, with 
that object, while Mr. Morris, the first lieutenant, with his own 
hands endeavoured to lash the ships together. Mr. Alwyn, the mas- 

"Beekman Vevplanck HofI'man, the fourtli lieutenant of the Constitution, a gentleman 
of New York, who died in 1834, a captain. 



56 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 



ter, and Mr. Bush, the lieutenant of marines, were upon the talfrail 
of the Constitution, to be ready to spring. Botli sides now sufiered 
by the closene.ss of the musketry ; the Enghsh much tlie most, how- 
ever. Mr. Morris was shot ihrougli tlie body, the bullet fortunately 
missing the vitals. Mr. Alwyn was wounded in the shoulder, and 
Mr. Bush fell dead by a bullet through the head. It being found 
impossible for either jjarty to board, in the face of such a fire, and 
with the heavy sea that was on, the sails were filled, and just as the 
Constitution shot ahead, the foremast of the enemy fell, carrying 
down with it his mainmast, and leaving him wallowing in the trough 
of the sea, a helpless wreck. 

The Constitution now hauled aboard her tacks, ran off a short 
distance, secured her nuists, and rove new riguing. At 7, she wore 
round, and taking a favourable jjosition for raking, a jack that had 
been kept flying on the stump of the mizen-mast of the enemy, was 
lowered. Mr. George Campbell Read,* the third lieutenant, was 
sent on board the prize, and the boat soon returned with the report 
that the captured vessel was the Guerriere 38, Captain Dacres, one 
of the ships that had so lately chased the Constitution, oflNew York. 

The Constitution kept waring to remain near her prize, and at 2 
A. M., a strange sail was seen closing, when she cleared for action ; 
but at three, the stranger stood off. At daylight the oflficer in charge 
hailed to say that the Guerriere had four feet water in her hold, and 
that there was danger of her sinking. On receiving this information, 
Captain Hull sent all his boats to remove the prisoners. Fortunately, 
the weather was moderate, and by noon this duty was nearly ended. 
At 3 P. M., the prize crew was recalled, having set the wreck on fire, 
and in a tpiarter of an hour, she blew up. Finding himself filled 
with wounded prisoners, Captafn Hull now returned to Boston, where 
he arrived on the 30th of the same month. 

It is not easy, at this distant day, to convey to the i-eader the full 
force of the moral impression created in America by this victory of 
one frigate over another. So deep had been the effect produced on 
the public mind by the constant accounts of the successes of the Eng- 
lish over their enemies at sea, that the opinion, already mentioned, 
of their invincibility on that element, generally prevailed; audit had 
been publicly predicted that, before the contest had continued six 
months, British sloops of war would lie alongside of American 
fi'igatcs with comparative impunity. Perhaps the only portion of 
even the American population that expected different results was 
that which composed the little body of officers on whom the trial 
wouKI fall, and they looked forward to the stiuggle with a manly res- 
olution, rather than with a very confident hope.t But the termina- 

*Cominoflore Rear!, at present in commanrl of tlio African squadron. 

t About two months before war was declared, the oflicersof twoof tbe friarates passed 
an eveniui; together, when tbe subject of what would be tlie probable result of a conflict 
between American and English ships, was seriously and temjierately discussed. The 
conclusion was, that, in the judgement of these gentlemen, at that interesting moment, 
their own chances of victory were al leant equal to those of the enemy. On tbe other 
hand, General Morcan.when witnessingthe evolutions of sunle American ships in jiort; 
about the same time, after expressing his admirationof their appearance, gave an opinion 
that it was inipo.ssiblc men so inexperienced should prevail over an English vessel. 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 57 

tion of the combat just related, far exceeded the expectations of even 
the most sanguine. After making ail proper allowance for the difler- 
ence of force, which certainly existed in favour of the Constitution, 
us well as for the excuses that the defeated party freely offered to the 
world, men on both sides of the Atlantic, who were competent to 
form intelligent opinions on such subjects, saw the promises of many 
future successes in this. The style in which the Constitution had 
been handled ; the deliberate and yet earnest manner in which she 
had been carried into battle ; the extraordinary execution that had 
been made in a short time by her fire; the readiness and gallantry 
with which she had cleared for action, so soon after destroying one 
British frigate, in which was manifested a disposition to meet another, 
united to produce a deep conviction of self-reliance, coolness, and 
skill, that was of infinite more weight than the transient feeling which 
might result from any accidental triumph. 

In this combat, the Constitution suflered a good deal in her rigging 
and sails, but very little in her hull. Her loss was seven killed, and 
seven wounded. As soon as she had rove new rigging, applied the 
necessary stoppers, and bent a few sails, as has been seen, she was 
ready to engage another frigate. On the other hand, the Gnerriere 
was completely dismasted, had seventy-nine men killed and wounded, 
and, according to the statement of her commander in his defence, 
before the court which tried him for the loss of his ship, she had 
received no less than thirty shot as low as five sheets of copper beneath 
the bends ! All this execution had been done between the time when 
the ships opened their fire abeam, and the moment when the Guer- 
riere's masts fell ; for the i'ew shot thrown by the Constitution, pre- 
viously to the first event, were virtually of no use, and, subsequently 
to the last, she did not discharge a gun. The whole period, between 
the time when the Guerriere commenced her fire at long shot, and 
that when she actually hauled down her jack, something like tvvo 
hours, was included in the enemy's accounts of the duration of the 
combat ; but it is well understood by professional men, that in truth, 
the battle was decided in about a fourth of that time. 

It was natural that a success so brilliant and unexpected should 
produce a reaction in public feeling ; and in dwelling on their 
victory, exaggerated and vainglorious boastinjrs mingled in the exulta- 
tion of the American journals of the period, while illiberal and fraud- 
ulent detraction made up the accounts of a portion of the English 
writers, when apologising for the defeat. As is usual, on such occa- 
sions, each side endeavoured to make the most of circumstances ; 
and it is the province of the historian to correct, as far as it is in his 
power, these misrepresentations and mistakes. That the Constitu- 
tion was a larger and a heavier ship than the Guerriere, will be 
disputed by no nautical man, though it is believed thai the actual 
difference between these vessels was considerably less than might be 
inferred from their respective rates. It is understood that the Guer- 
riere was nearly as long a ship as her adversary, and it has been 
asserted on respectable authority, that she was actually pierced for 
54 guns, though it is admitted that she had but 49 mounted in the 



58 NAVAL HISTORY. [1S12. 

action, one of which was a light boat-carronade.* Her gun-deck 
metal was eighteen-pounders, and lier carronades, hke tliose of the 
Constitution, were tliirty-twos. The Gueniere was a French-built 
ship, but we have no means of ascertaining whether her auns were, 
or were not, French eighteens. If the latter, her shot of this denomi- 
nation would have weighed nenr nineteen and a half pounds, while, at 
that period, it is believed that the twenty-four pound shot of America 
seldom much exceeded twenty-two pounds. Some experiments 
made at that time, are said to have shown that the difference between 
the metal of these two ships was much less than would have appeared 
from the nominal power of their guns, t The great inferiority of the 
Guerriere, certainly, was in her men. Captain Dacres, whose authority 
on this point there is no reason to question, says that he mustered 
but 203 souls at quarters, in consequence of the absence of one lieu- 
tenant, two midshipmen, and a part of his people, in prizes. He 
also admits the important fact tliat there were several Americans 
among his crew, who refused to fight, and, much to his credit, he 
permitted them to go below. This number has been stated at ten, 
in other British accounts. 

After making every allowance that was claimed by the enemy, the 
character of this victory is not essentially altered. Its peculiarities 
were a fine display of seamanship in the approach, extraordinary 
efficiency in the attack, and great readiness in repairing damages ; 
all of which denote cool and capable officers, with an expert and 
trained crew; in a word, a disciplined man-of-\var.| Observant men 
compared the injury done to the Guerriere in thirty minutes, and part 
of that time with the ships foul, in a situation that compelled the 
Constitution to withhold her fire, with that done to the Chesapeake, 
an unresisting vessel, in twelve minutes ; the first, too, occurring in 
rough, and the last in smooth water, with every advantage of posi- 
tion. While the mass of the nation perceived that the notion of 
British invincibility was absurd, and, perhaps, began to expect 
impossibilities, this portion of the observers, with justice, foresaw 
that America had only to put forth her power in earnest, to assert 
the freedom of the seas in a manner to command respect. 

Captain Dacres lost no professional reputation by his defeat. He 
had handled his ship in a manner to win the applause of his enemies, 
fought her gallantly, and only submitted when further resistance 

* It is stated on authority deemed worthy of credit, that the Guerriere was pierced for 
thirty quns on the gun-deck, but that she liad no bridle-port, below. Five ports that 
could have been fought in broadside, are said to have been empty on board the Guer- 
riere, when the Americans took possession. 

t An officcrcf the Constitution, of experience and of great respectability, who is now 
dead, assured the writer that lie actually weighed the shot of both ships, and found that 
the Constitution's twenty-fours were only three pounds heavier than the Gucrriere's 
eighteens. and '.hat there was nearly the same diH'crence in favour of the latter's thirty- 
twos. The writer has elsewhere given the result of his own investigations, on this sub- 
ject, made, howcvf.r, .some years after the war. He never found an English shot over- 
weight, though most of the American shot fell short. 

t Whatever may Itvc been its (.onduct, and it was e.\.cellent in the chase and in the 
engaETomont, the crew of the Constitution was actually new, her men having been ship- 
ped ju.st before the war. 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 59 

would have been as culpable as, in fact, it was impossible. Less can 
be said in favour of the efficiency of the Gueiriere's batteries, which 
were not equal to the mode of fighting that had been introduced by 
her antagonist, and which, in fact, was the commencement of a new 
era in combats between single ships. 

We have dwelt at length on the circumstances connected with 
this action, not only because it was the first serious conflict of the 
war, but because it was characterised by features which, though 
novel at the time, became identified with nearly all the subsequent 
engagements of the contest, showing that they were intimately con- 
nected with the discipline and system of the American marine. 

Captain Hull having performed the two handsome exploits re- 
corded, now gave Up the command of his frigate, with a feeling that 
was highly creditable to him, in order to allow others an equal 
chance to distinguish themselves, th^-e being unfortunately many 
more captains than vessels in the navy, at that trying moment. 
Captain Bainbridge was named to be his successor, being transferred 
from the Constellation 38, then fitting for sea at Washington, to the 
Constitution.* 

As Captain Bainbridge was one of the oldest officers of his rank 
in the service, he was given a conmiand consisting of his own ship, 
the Essex 33, and the Hornet 18. He hoisted his broad pennant on 
board the Constitution, accordingly, on the 15th of September, at 
Boston. Captain Stewart, lately returned from a furlough, was 
appointed to the Constellation 38, and Mr. Charles Morris, the first 
lieutenant of the Constitution in the chase, and in the battle, was 
shortly after promoted to the rank of captain, passing the step of 
master-commandant, as had been the case with Commodore De- 
catur.t This was the second time this officer had been promoted 
for his conduct in battle, and he probably owed his present elevation 
over the heads of his seniors, to this circumstance, coupled with the 
fact that his wound in the late action had so nearly been fatal. 

Whatever may have been the merits of the officer who was the 
subject of this exercise of executive power, and they are known to 
be of a very h.irfli order, there is little question that the precedent set, 
not ordy in his case, but in that of Captain Decatur, is of a very 
dangerous character. No general rule can be safer than to promote 
the first lieutenant of a victorious ship; for the efficiency of a man-of- 
war depends as much on this officer as on her commander, and 
while it may be no more than an act of justice, it is an incentive to 
constant preparation ; but no policy can be weaker than that which 
deprives many of their self-respect and just professional pride, in 
order to reward the services and sustain the hopes of one. The 
policy of the navy has been characterised by acts of this vacillating 
and short-sighted nature ; and thus it is that we have so long wit- 

_• Bainbridge had been ordered to the Constitation before she sailed on this cruise, but 
itis not to be supposed Hull would not have been permitted to retain his command, kfter 
his victory, had be pressed for it. 

t There may have been a sliijht difference in the two cases, as the rank of masters and 
commanders did not lejrally exist in 1804, thongh the executive issued its commissions. 



GO NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

nessed the fact of veterans lingering in the stations tliat they have 
held for quite forty years, through the neglect of the proper authori- 
ties to create a new and superior rank, in contrast with occasional 
and indiscreet exercises of patronage. These irregularities, in which 
there is excess of favour on one side, with denials of justice on 
another, are the fruits of the influence of popular feeling over a 
corps, that, being necessarily subjected, in its ordinary duties, to the 
rio-id exactions of martial law, is entitled at all times, to have its 
interests protected by a uniform, consistent, rigidly just, and high- 
toned code of civil regulations. It is not the least of the merits of 
the American marine, that it has earned its high reputation in 
despite of the various disadvantages of this nature, under which it 
has laboured.* 



CHAPTER V. 

Neglect of navy by congress- --Com. Rodgers' second cruise— -United States captures 
tiie Macedonian— Cruise of the Argus— -Cruises of the Wasp and the combat with 
the Frolic. 

It is worthy of notice, that Congress did nothing of any moment 
towards increasing the navy, on the ocean, during the year 1812, 
although war was declared in June. This neglect of this important 
branch of the public service, under circumstances that would seem 
so imperiously to call for the fostering care and active exertions of 
the government, must be ascribed to the doubts that still existed as 
to the possibility of keeping ships at sea, in face of the British navy. 
It had> so long been customary for the world to say, that France, 
whenever she put a ship into the water, was merely building for her 
great enemy, that an opinion was prevalent, America would be 
doing the same thing, if she wasted her resources in creating a ma- 
rine ; and it literally became necessary for the accomplished officers 
who composed the germ of the service, to demonstrate, from fact to 
fact, their ability to maintain the honour of the country, before that 
country would frankly confide to them the means. As we proceed 
in the narrative of events, this singular historical truth will become 
more apparent. 

Commodore Rodgers, having refitted, sailed on a second cruise, 
leaving the Hornet in port; but Commodore Decatur, in the United 
States 44, and the Argus 16, Captain Sinclair, parted company with 
him, at sea, on the 12th of October, after cruising some time without 
falling in with any thing of importance. On the 17th, he captured 
the British packet Swallow, with a large amount of specie onboard, 

* In the end, tlie promotion of Captain Morris made but liltle difference in his position 
in the service, except as regards the lieutenants, an advantage very propei'ly obtained, 
most of the masters and commanders regaining their relative ranli on pronwtion. One, 
however, Captain Ludlo\v. a yery respectable officer, was induced to resign. 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 61 

and continued his cruise to the eastward. In the mean while, the 
United States and Argus having separated, the former stood more to 
the southward and eastward, with a view to get into the track of the 
enemy's Indiamcn. Sunday, October 25th, the United States, then 
in lat. 29° N., long. 29° 30' W., made a large sail to the southward 
and eastward. The stranger was running down a little free, while 
the American ship was on a wind, standing towards the chase, which 
was soon ascertained to be an enemy. The latter having come 
within a league, hauled up, and passed to windward, when each 
party was enabled to see that they had a frigate to oppose. The 
stranger now wore and came round on the same tack Avith the Uni- 
ted States, keeping away sufficiently to get within reach ot her long 
guns, when she hauled up on an easy bowline, with her mizen-top- 
sail aback. At this moment the distance between the two ships a 
little exceeded a mile when the Englishman opened his fire. Find- 
ing the enemy on his weather quarter, Commodore Decatur delivered 
his larboard broadside, wore round, and came, up to the wind on the 
other tack, heading northerly. It was observed that all the carro- 
nade shot fell short, the enemy doing very little injury by his fire. 

Having passed her antagonist, the United States delivered her 
starboard broadside, and wore again, bringing her head once more 
to the southward, or on the same tack as the enemy, both ships 
steering rap full, with their mizen-topsails aback, and keeping up a 
heavy cannonade. In this manner the action continued about an 
hour, the English vessel sufliering heavily, while her own fire inflicted 
very little injury on her antagonist. At length the stranger's mizen- 
mast came down over his lee quarter, having been shot away about 
ten feet above the deck. He then fell off", and let his foresail drop, 
apparently with a wish to close. As the ships got near together, 
the shot of the American vessel did fearful execution, the forecourse 
being soon in ribands, the fore and main-topmasts over the side, the 
main-yard cut away in the slings, and the foremast tottering. The 
United States now filled her mizen-topsail, gathered fresh way, and 
tacked. As the stranger was drifting down, nearly before the wind, 
and was almost unmanageable, Commodore Decatur had no diffi- 
culty in heading up high enough to cross his wake, which he hand- 
somely effected, with his people strll manning the larboard guns. 
At the time the United States filled her mizen-topsail, in preparation 
for stays, it is said that the enemy, under the impression she was 
about to run away, gave three cheers, and set a union jack in his 
main rigging, all his other flags having come down with the several 
spars. When, however, the American ship was seen luffing up to 
close, the jack was lowered, and resistance ceased. 

As the United States crossed the stern of the English ship, the 
firing having ceased on both sides, she hailed and demanded the 
name of her antagonist, and whether she had submitted. To the 
first interrogatory, Commodore Decatur was answered that the ship 
was the Macedonian 38, Captain Carden, and to the second, that 
the vessel had struck. On taking possession, the enemy was found 
fearfully cut to pieces, having received no less than a hundred round 

VOL. IT. 4 



62 NAVAL HISTORY. [18 12. 

shot in his hull alone. Of three hundred men on board him, thirtj- 
six were killed, and sixty-eight wounded. 

The Macedonian was a very fine ship of her class, mounting, as 
usual, 49 o'uns, eighteens on her gun-deck, and thirty-two-pound 
carronades above. She was smaller, of lighter armament, and had 
fewer men than her opponent, of course, but the disproportion be- 
tween the force of the two vessels, was much less than that between 
the execution. In this action, the advantage of position was with 
the British ship until she was crippled, and the combat was little more 
than a plain cannonade, at a distance that rendered grape or mus- 
ketry of little or no use, for the greater part of the time. The fire 
of the United States took effect so heavily in the waist of her antag- 
onist, that it is said the marines of the latter were removed to the 
batteries, which circumstance increased the efiiciency of the ship, 
by enabling ne'.v crews to be placed at guns that had been once 
cleared of theij men. On the other hand, the marines of the United 
States remained draAvn up in the waist of that ship, most of the time 
quite useless, though they are understood to have shown the utmost 
steadiness and good conduct under the example of their gallant com- 
mander, the weight of the enemy's fire passing a short distance above 
their heads. 

The United States suffered surprisingly little, considering the 
length of the cannonade, and her equal exposure. She lost one of 
her top-gallant masts, received some wounds in the spars, had a good 
deal of rigging cut, and was otherwise injured aloft, but was hidled 
a very few times. Of her officers and people 5 were killed and 7 
wounded. Of the latter, two died, one of whom was Mr. John Mus- 
ser Funk, the junior lieutenant of the ship. No other officer was hurt. 

On taking possession of his prize. Commodore Decatur found her 
in a state that admitted of her being taken into port. Her two prin- 
cipal masts were secured, and a jury mizen-mast was rigged by Mr. 
Allen, the first lieutenant of the United States, who was put in charge 
of her, with great ingenuity, so as to convert the vessel into a bark. 

When the necessary repairs were completed, the two ships made 
the best of their way to America ; Commodore Decatur discontinu- 
ing his cruise, in order to convoy his prize into port. The United 
States arrived off New London on the 4th of December, and about 
the same time the Macedonian got into Newport. Shortly after, both 
■ships reached New York by the Hell Gate passage. 

The order and style with which the Macedonian was taken, added 
materially to the high reputation that Commodore Decatur already 
enjoyed. His services were acknowledged in tiie usual manner, and 
he was soon after directed to cruise in the United States, with the 
Macedonian, Captain Jones, in company. Mr. Allen, the first lieu- 
tenant of the United States, was promoted to the rank of a master- 
commandant, and he received due credit for the steady discipline 
that tlie ship's company had dis)»layed. 

The Argus, under Captain Sinclair, after separating from the 
United States, cruised alone, making several captures of merchant- 
men, though she met no vessel of war, of a force proper for her to 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 63 

engage. During this cruise, the brig was chased for three days and 
nights, the latter being nioonhght, by a squadron of the enemy, two 
of which were ships of the line. On this occasion, the Argus proved 
her fine qualities, and the coolness of her officers and people did them 
infinite credit. All the guns were preserved, though the brig was so 
hard pressed as to be obliged to start her water, to cut away anchors, 
and to throw overboard some of her boats. Notwithstanding the 
perseverance of her pursuers, the Argus actually took and manned a 
prize during the chase, thougli two of the enemy got near enough to 
open their lire as the vessels separated. The brig escaped, having 
made five prizes before she got in. 

While these events were in the course of accomplishment, among 
the other vessels, the Wasp 18, Captain Jones, left the Delaware on 
a cruise. She was one of the sloops built at the close of the Tripoli- 
tan war, and like her sister ship the Hornet, a beautiful and fast 
cruiser. The latter, however, which originally was a brig, had been 
rebuilt, or extensively repaired at Washington, on which occasion, 
she had been pierced for twenty guns, and rigged into a ship. The 
Wasp still retained her old armament and construction, having been 
a ship from the first, mounting IG thirty-two pound carronades and 
2 long twelves. Her complement of men varied from 130 to 160, 
according to circumstances. She had been to Europe with des- 
patches before the declaration of war, and did not return home until 
some weeks after hostilities had commenced. 

The Wasp, after refitting, sailed on a cruise to the northward. 
She ran oft' Boston, made one capture, and after an absence of three 
weeks, returned to the Delaware. On the 13th of October, she sailed 
a second time, and ran oft' east, southerly, to clear the coast, and to 
get into the track of vessels steering north. Three days out it came 
on to blow very heavily, when the ship lost her jib-boom, and two 
men that wei-e on it at the moment. The next day the weather 
moderated, and about 1 1 o'clock in the night of the 17th, being then 
in latitude 37° N., and longitude 65° W., several sail were made. 
Two of these vessels appeared to be large, and Captain Jones did not 
deem it prudent to close, until he had a better opportunity of observ- 
ing them, but hauling oft' to a convenient distance, he steered in the 
same direction with the unknown vessels, with the intention of ascer- 
taining their characters in the morning. When the day dawned, the 
strangers were seen ahead, and to leeward. Making sail to close, 
they were soon ascertained to be a small convoy of six English ships, 
under the charge of a heavy brig of war. Four of the merchantmen 
were armed, apparently, mounting, as well as could be ascertained 
at that distance, from 12 to 18 guns. The commander of the brig, 
however, manifested no wish to avail himself of the assistance of any 
of his convoy, but shortening sail, the latter passed ahead, while he 
prepared to give battle. 

The Wasp now sent down topgallant-yards, close reefed her top- 
sails, and was otherwise brought under short fighting canvass, there 
being a good deal of sea on. The stranger was under little sail also, 
and his main yard was on deck, where it had been lowered to undergo 



64 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

repairs. As it was the evident intention of the EngHshman to cover 
his convoy, very Httle mana3uvring was necessary to bringtlie vessels 
alongside of each other. At 32 minutes past 11 A. M., the Wasp 
ranged close up on the starboai-d side of the enemy, receiving her 
broadside, at the distance of about sixty yards, and delivering her 
own. The fire of the Englishman immediately became very rapid, 
it having been thought at the time, that he discharged three .guns to 
the Wasp's two, and as the main-topmast of the latter ship was shot 
away within five minutes after the action commenced, appearances, 
at first, were greatly in the enemy's favour. In eight minutes, the 
gafi'and mizen topgallant-mast also fell. But, if the fire of the Wasp 
was the most deliberate, it was much the most deadly. 

In consequence of the fall of the main-topmast of the American 
sliip, which, with the main-topsail-yard, lodged on the fore and fore- 
topsail braces, it became next to impossible to haul any of the yards, 
had circumstances required it, but the battle was continued with great 
spirit on both sides, until the sliips had gradually closed so near, that 
the bends of the Wasp rubbed against her antagonist's bows. Here 
the vessels came foul, the bowsprit of the enemy passing in over the 
quarter-deck of the Wasp, forcing her bows up into the wind, and 
enabling the latter to throw in a close rakinsf fire. 

When Captain Jones perceived the eflect of the enemy's fire on 
his spars and rigging, it was his intention to board, and he had closed 
with this view ; but finding his ship in so favourable a position to 
rake the enemy, he countermanded an order to that effect, and 
directed a fresh broadside to be delivered. The vessels were now so 
near that in loading some of the Wasp's guns, the rammers hit 
against the bows of her antagonist, and the people of the English 
ship could no longer be kept at their quarters forward. The dis- 
charge of one or two of the carronades swept the enemy's decks, 
when the impetuosity of the Wasp's crew could no longer be restrain- 
ed, and they began to leap into the rigging, and from thence on the 
bowsprit of the brig. As soon as Mr. Biddle, the first lieutenant of 
the Wasp, found that the people Avere not to be restrained, he sprang 
into the rigging, followed by Lieutenant G. Rodgers and a party of 
oflicers and men, and the attempt to board was seriously made. On 
the forecastle of the brig, Mr. Biddle passed all his own people, but 
there was no enemy to oppose him. Two or three officers were 
standing aft, most of them bleeding. The decks were strewed with 
killed and wounded, but not a common hand was at his station, all 
of those that were able having gone below, M'ith the exception of the 
man at the wheel. The latter had maintained his post, with the spirit 
of a true seaman, to the very last. 

The English officers threw down their swords, in token of sub- 
mission, as Mr. Biddle passed aft, and it ought to be added, to the 
credit of the conquerors, notwithstanding the excitement of such 
scenes are too apt to lead even the disciplined into excesses, not an 
enemy was injured by the boarders. Mr. Biddle sprang into the 
main rigging, and lowered the English flagwith his own hands, when 
the combat ceased, after a duration of 43 minutes. 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 65 



Thu prize turned out to be the British sloop of war Frolic 18, Cap- 
tain Whinyates, homeward bound, with the vessels in the Honduras 
trade under convoy. The Frolic, with the exception of being a brig, 
was a vessel of the size and construction of the Wasp. She mount- 
ed on her main deck, 16 thirty-two pound carronades, four lonjj 
guns, differently stated to have been sixes, nines, and twelves, and 
with two twelve-pound carronades on a topgallant forecastle. This 
armament would make a force greater than that of the Wasp by foiir 
guns, a disparity that is not immaterial in vessels so small. The 
two crews were pretty equal in numbers, though it is probable that the 
Wasp may have had a few men the most, a difterence that was of 
little moment under the circumstances, more particularly as the 
Frolic was a brig, and the battle was fought, by both vessels, under 
very short sail.* • 

The Wasp was cut up aloft to an unusual degree, there having 
been no question that her antagonist's tire was heavy and spirited. 
The braces and standing rigging were nearly all shot away, and 
some of the spars that stood were injured. She had tive men killed, 
and five wounded. The hull sustained no great damage. 

The Frolic was also much injured in her spars and rigging, more 
particularly in the former ; and the two vessels were hardly separat- 
ed, before both her masts fell. She had been hulled at almost every 
discharge, and was virtually a wreck when taken possession of by the 
Americans, Her loss in men was never accurately known, but her 
captain, first lieutenant, and master, were wounded ; the two latter, 
mortally. Mr. Biddle, who remained in charge of the prize, after 
Bo gallantly boarding her, stated, that as far as he could ascertain, 
she had from 70 to 80 killed and wounded. Subsequent informa- 
tion, however, has given reason to believe that the number was even 
greater. Captain Whinyates, in his official report, states that not 
20 of his crew escaped unhurt, winch would probably raise the casu- 
alties to a number between 90 and 100. 

The Frolic had scarcely submitted, when a large sail was seen 
standing towards the two vessels, evidently a ship of force. Instruc- 
tions were given to Mr. Biddle to make the best of his way to Charles- 
ton with the prize, and the Wasp began to make sail, with an 
intention to continue her cruise ; but on opening her canvass, and 
turning the reefs out of her to[>sails, they were found to be nearly in 
ril)ands. The stranger, which turned out to be the enemy's ship 
Foicticrs 74, hove a shot over the Frolic, in passing, and soon rang- 
ing up near the Wasp, both vessels were captured. The Poictiers 
proceeded with her two prizes to Bermuda, and the Americans being 
parolled, soon after returned home. 

As this was the first combat of the war between vessels of a force 
so nearly equal as to render cavilling difficult, the result occasioned 
much exultation in America, and greatly increased the confidence 
of the public, in supposing an American ship had quite as many 
claims to conduct, courage, and skill, as her enemies. Persons of 

*T!ic \Vasp's muster-roll, on the morning- of the IStli October, contained the names of 
S38 persons ail told. 



66 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

reflection attached but little importance, it is true, to the mere fact 
that a few cruisers had been taken in sin<^le combat, but the idea of 
British invincibility Avas destroyed, and the vast moral results were 
distinctly foreseen. Men part with their prejudices slowly and with 
reluctance ; and the warfare on the ocean produced one on the land, 
in which the contending parties, by pretending to analyse the three 
combats that had now occurred, displayed on both sides more 
ignorance than logic, and much intemperance of language and pre- 
varication. 

They who understood the power of ships, and examined details, 
with a real desire to learn the truth, discovered that a new era had 
occurred in naval warfare. While these critics perceived and 
admitted the superiority of the American frigates, in the two actions 
that had occurred, they ccndd not but see that it was not in proportion 
to the execution they had done ; and in the combat between the two 
little vessels that has just been recorded, the important fact was not 
overlooked, that the enemy's brig had suffered as severe a loss in 
men, as it was usual for the heaviest vessels to sustain in genera! 
actions. Hitherto English ships had been compelled to seek close 
contests with their foes, but now they had only to back their topsails 
to be certain of being engaged at the muzzles of their guns. There 
was no failing oft" in British spirit ; no vessel was unworthily given 
up ; for the case of the Alert may be taken as a surprise ; and it was 
necessary to search for the cause of this sudden and great change in 
the character of the new adversary. The most cavilling detractors 
of the rising reputation of the American marine, were reluctantly 
obliged to admit that naval combats \Yere no longer what they had 
been ; and the discreet among the enemy, saw the necessity of 
greater caution, more laboured preparations, and of renewed efforts. 

As respects the particular combat between the Wasp and Frolic, 
in the published account of the English captain, much stress was laid 
on the crippled condition of this ship, when she went into action. It 
is admitted that the Frolic had her main-yard on deck when she 
engaged, and, as little canvass was required, her after-sail was 
reduced to her fore-and-aft mainsail. There are circumstances in 
which the loss of a brig's main-topsail would be of the last impor- 
tance ; and there are circumstances, again in which it would be of 
but little moment. On this occasion it does not appear to have 
materially influenced the result ; and the very fact that the yard was 
down, may have prevented the mast from filling during the engage- 
ment, instead of fTlling after it. On details of this nature, it is 
difficult to reason accurately, so ranch depending on minute circum- 
stances, that must escape the general observer. In effect, the loss 
of the main-yard converted the Frolic into a half-rigged brig, a 
species of vessel that is in much request among seamen, and which 
would require fewer men to manage than a full-rigged brig.* 

"The English commancier in hisaccoiint, of the action however, states that he had suf- 
fered in a sevei'e gale on the night preceding the engagement, losing his topsails, carry- 
ing away his maiiT-yard, and springing his main-topraast. On the night preceding the 
action, the Wasp is known to have been watching the convoy, quite near by, and uotb- 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 67 

Captain Jones was promoted shortly after this success, and he was 
appointed to the command of the Macedonian 38, which ship had 
been purchased and taken into the service. The name of Mr. Bid- 
die, who was an old hentenant, and whose spirited conduct in the 
action was much appreciated, was also included in the list of masters 
and commanders that was sent into the senate about the same time.* 



CHAPTER VI. 



Squadron of Com. Bainbridge — He sails with only two of his ships — Challenge to tlie 
Bonne Citoyenne — Action between the Constitution and Java — Action between Hor- 
net and Peacock — Congress determines to increase the navy— Bainbridge quits the Con- 
stitution — L awrence promoted. 

Whex Commodore Bainbridjre took command of the three vessels 
that have been already mentioned, the Constitution 44, his own ship, 
and Hornet 18, Captain Lawrence, were lying in the port of Bos- 
ton ; and the Essex 32, Captain Porter, had just gone into the Del- 
aware. Orders were sent to the latter officer, to i-endezvous first at 
Port Praya, in the island of St. Jago ; and secondly, at Fernando 
Noronha. Other places of resort were pointed out ; and he was also 
instructed to cruise in the track of the enemy's Indiamen, until a 
time mentioned, when, if he failed to fall in with his senior officer, 
he was at liberty to follow his own discretion. As the Essex never 
joined the other ships, we shall defer the mention of her active and 
hiohlv interesting cruise, to another chapter. 

The Constitution and Hornet sailed from Boston on the 26th of 
October. Touching at the different rendezvous, where they appeared 
in the character of British vessels of war, letters were left for Cap- 
tain Porter, under the assumed name of Sir James Yeo, of the 
Southampton 32,t aecordingto arrangement, and the ships proceeded. 

Commodore Bainbridge arrived off St. Salvador on the 13tli of 
December, and the Hornet was sent in to communicate with the 

ing is said of any gale, though one had occurred the day previous. These are some of 
the discrepancies with which the historian has to contend, but it is not improbable that 
many of iliem ought to be ascribed to the public officers rather than to the mistakes of 
eye-witnesses. 

* Captain Jones mentioned the names of all his officers with approbation. The other 
lieutenants were, Mr. George Rodgers, who died a few^ years since, in the command of 
the Brazil station; Booth, since dead, a commander ; Claxton, died a commodore in the 
Pacific ; and Rapp, acting, now dead. 

t When the Essex arrived, Captain Porter obtained one of these letters which, in ad- 
dition to some common-place matter, contained orders in sympathetic ink, for his future 
movements. Captain Porter relates the occurrence, and gives a copy of the letter, in his 
journal of the Essex's cruise, the nature of the whole transaction appearing on its face. 
The letter sjicaks for itself yet Captain Porter, in a leading English publication, was 
. charged with being guilty of an improper act, for opening a letter directed to another 
person! When national hostility blinds a writer to such a degree as this, he puts him- 
self without tlie pale of common sense, if not without that of common honesty. 



68 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

consul. Captain Lawrence found the British sloop of war Bonne 
Citoyenne 18, Captain Green, in port, but about to sail for England, 
with a very large amount of specie on board. The presence of tliis 
vessel, suggested a hope of being able to get her out. After convers- 
ing with the consul, that gentleman was empowered to inform the 
commander of the English ship, that Captain Lawrence was desirous 
of meeting him at sea, and to give the necessary pledges that the 
Constitution would be out of the way. A correspondence took place 
between the English and American consuls on the subject, and in 
the end. Captain Green declined acceding to the proposal. 

There may be occasions in which an officer is justified in giving 
an invitation of this kind to an enemy's ship, since a challenge may 
have all the practical effects of a ruse dc guerre, by getting a vessel 
under his guns in this manner, that he might not be able to get there 
in any other way. Had the Hornet taken the Bonne Citoyenne, by 
the aid of this provocation, she would have conferred a great benefit 
on her country, and inflicted a great injury on the enemy, both of 
which were the legitimate objects of her cruise ; but challenges of 
this sort are generally to be avoided, since they may be the means 
of compelling an officer to engage at a moment when it would be 
his duty to avoid an action. The commander of a vessel of war is 
bound, at all times to retain as perfect a control of his movements as 
possible, that he may be in a situation to consult the public good, as 
events arise ; and the officer who is pledged to meet his enemy under 
prescribed rules, is no longer the master of his own movements, 
should general duty suddenly interfere with his particular conven- 
tion. There can be no question, that, under his peculiar circum- 
stances. Captain Green decided properly, in refusing to meet the 
Hornet, though the reason that was given was objectionable, inas- 
much as he appeared to distrust an interference on the part of the 
American frigate. 

The Constitution left the Hornet to blockade the Bonne Citoyenne 
alone, on the 26th, and stood to the southward, keeping the land 
aboard. About 9 A. M. of the 29th, Avhen in lat. 13° 6' S., and 
long. 31° W., or at a distance of ten leagues from the coast, two 
strange sail were made, inshore and to windward. One of these 
vessels continued to stand in, while the other, which was much the 
larirest, altered her course in the direction of the American frigate, 
which had tacked to close with her. The day was pleasant, there 
was but little sea, and the wind was light at E. N. E. 

At 11 A. M., being satisfied that the strange sail was an enemy's 
frigate, the Constitution tacked again to the southward and eastward, 
to draw her off the land, which was plainly in sight. At the same 
time, she set her royals, and boarded main-tack, in order to effect 
this object. 

At 12 M. the Constitution showed her colours, and shortly after 
the stranger set the English ensign. Signals were made by both 
ships, but proved to be mutually unintelligible. At 20 minutes past 
I, P. M., believing himself far enough from the land. Commodore 
Bainbridge took in his main-sail and rovals, and tacked towards the 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 69 

enemy. Soon after, both ships had their heads to the southward 
and eastward, the Enghshman being- to windward more than a mile 
distant, and well on the Constitution's quarter. 

The enemy had now hauled down his ensign, though he kept a 
jack tlying, and Commodore Bainbridge ordered a shot fired ahead 
of him, to induce him to show his colours anew. This order brouo-ht 
on a general fire, and the battle commenced at 2, P. M., on both 
sides, with a furious cannonade. As in the light wind that prevailed, 
the enemy sailed the best, he soon forged ahead, and kept away with 
a view to cross the Constitution's bow, but was foiled by the latter 
ship's waring, which brought the heads of the two combatants once 
more to the westward. In performingthese evolutions, as the enemy 
steered free, and the Constitution luffed, the vessels got within pistol- 
shot, when the former repeated the same attempt, the ships warintr 
together, bringing their heads once more to the eastward. The 
English ship forereaching again, now endeavoured to tack to preserve 
the weather gage, but failing, she was obliged to ware, a manceuvre 
tiiat the Constitution had executed before her, to avoid being raked, 
for the wheel of the latter ship had been shot away, and it was diffi- 
cult to watch the vessel with the helm, as closely as was desirable. 
The Constitution, notwithstanding, was the first in coming to the 
wind on the other tack, and she got an efficient raking fire at her 
opponent. 

Both vessels now ran off free, with the wind on the quarter, the 
English ship still to windward, when the latter being greatly injured, 
made an attempt to close, at 55 minufes past 2, by running down on 
the Constitution's quarter. Her jib-boom ran into the Constitution's 
mizen rigging, in which situation she suftered severely, Avithout being 
able to effect her purpose. The head of her bowsprit was soon shot 
away, and in a few minutes after, her foremast came by the board. 
The Constitution shot ahead, keeping away to avoid being raked; 
and in separating, the stump of the enemy's bowsprit passed over the 
American frigate's taftrail. 

The two ships now brought the wind abeam again, with their 
heads to the eastward, and the Constitution having forereached, in 
consequence of carrying the most sail, wore, passed her antagonist, 
luff'ed up under his quarter, wore again, and the Englishman liaving 
kept away, the vessels came alongside of each other, and engaged 
for a short time, yard-arm and yard-arm. In a few minutes the en- 
emy lost his mizen-mast, leaving nothing standing but his main-mast, 
with the yard shot away near the slings. As his fire had ceased, the 
Constitution hauled aboard her tacks, and luffed athwart her antag- 
onist's bow ; passing out of the combat to windward, at five minutes 
past 4, with her topsails, courses, spanker, and jib set. In executing 
this mancEuvre, Commodore Bainbridge was under the impression 
that the enemy had struck, the ensign which had been hoisted in his 
main-rigffing being down, his ship a wreck, and his fire silenced. 

The Constitution having got a flivourable weatherly position, 
passed an hour in repairing damages, and in securing her masts ; it 
being all-important to an American frigate so far from home, without 



70 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

colonies or militaiy stations to repair to, and an ocean to traverse that 
was covered with enemies, to look vigilantly to these i^reat auxilia- 
ries. In about an hour, observing an ensign still flyiiio- on board his 
enemy, Commodore Bainbridge wore round, and standing directly 
across his fore-foot, the English vessel anticipated his fire by striking. 

The Constitution immediately wore, with her head on the same 
tack as the captured vessel, hoisted out a boat, and sent Mr. Parker, 
her first lieutenant, to take possession. The prize proved to be the 
British fi'igate Java 38, Captain Lambert, bound to the East Indies, 
having on board as passengers. Lieutenant General Ilislop and staft", 
together with several supernumerary sea-officers, and a considerable 
number of men, intended for other ships. 

This combat lasted near two hours, from the commencement to 
the end of the firing, and it had been warmly contested on both sides, 
but with very different results. Although there was more manojuvr- 
ing than -common, the Java had been literally picked to pieces by 
shot, spar following spar, until she had not one left. Her foremast 
was first cut away nearthe cat-harpings, and afterwards, by a double- 
headed shot, about five-and-twenty feet from the deck. The main- 
topmast went early, and the main-mast fell after the Constitution 
hauled off. The raizen-mast was shot out of the ship, a few feet 
from the deck, and the bowsprit near the cap. Her hull was also 
greatly injured ; and her loss in men, according to the British pub- 
lished accounts, was 22 killed and 102 wounded ; though there is 
good reason for supposing it was considerably greater. Commodore 
Bainbridge stated it at 60 killed and 101 wounded. There may 
have been some discrepancy in these statements', in consequence of 
the great number of supernumeraries on board the Java, which ship 
is said to have had more than 400 men in her when taken, or near 
100 more than her regular complement.* Captain Lambert, of the 
Java, was mortally wounded ; and one of her lieutenants, the mas- 
ter, and many of her inferior officers, were slain, or seriously hurt. 

The Constitution did not lose a spar! She went into action with 
her royal yards across, and came out of it with all three of them in 
their places. An eighteen-pound shot passed through her niizen- 
mast ; the fore-mast was slightly wounded, and the main-mast was 
untouched. The main-topmast was also slightly wounded ; a few 
other spars were hit, without being carried away; the running 
rigging was a good deal cut ; several shrouds were parted, and the 
ship received a few round sliot in her hull. Of her crew, 9 were 
killed, and 25 were wounded. Among the latter were Commodore 
Bainbridge, and the junior lieutenant, Mr. Alwyn. The last died 
of his injuries, sometime after the action. Commodore Bainbridge 
was slightly hurt in the hip, early in the engagement, by a musket- 
ball ; and the shot that carried away the wheel, drove a small copper 

■^Tlif Bvitisli accounts state the cre\v of the Java at 377 men inchiding' supernnmera- 
ries. C(jmnio;love Bainbridge reports that he furloughed 361 officers, seanipn, marines, 
and boys, exclusively of 8 passengers and 9 Portna:uese .seamen, making 378 souls. If 
to these be added the 22 allowed to bo killed by the enemy, a total of just 400 is obtain- 
ed. But it is said that a muster-list, made five days after *.hc Java sailed, contained just 
446 names. 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 71 

bolt into histhigli, inflicting a dangerous wound, though he kept tlie 
deck until midnight.* 

Although the injuries to the hull of the Java were not of a nature 
to render her being carried into port difficult, the smoothness of the 
sea having prevented her from receiving many shot below the water- 
line, there existed many objections to attempting it. In the first 
place, it was known that the Brazilian government was favourable to 
that of Great Britain, and there had been strong proof of it during 
the recent visit of Connnodore Bainbridge to St. Salvador. That 
officer, therefore felt a hesitation about trusting his prize in a Brazil- 
ian port. The difficulty of obtainins' masts of the necessary size, the 
distance from home, and the risks of recapture, on nearing thecoast, 
united to render it expedient to destroy her. After lying by her two 
or three days, therefore, with a view to remove the wounded with 
proper care, the Java was blown up, and the Constitution made the 
best of her way to St. Salvador, where she immediately landed her 
prisoners on parole. 

Throughout the whole of the transactions connected Avith the 
interests and feelings of the officers and men he had captured, Com- 
modore Bainbridge manifested a liberality and delicacy, that tended 
to relieve the miseries that war necessarily inflicts, and which appear 
to have left a deep impression on the enemv- 

The same general peculiarities attended this combat, as had dis- 
tinguished the two other cases of frigate actions. In all three, the 
American vessels were superior to their antagonists ; but in all three, 
had the difference in execution been greatly out of proportion to the 
disparity in force. The Java, like the Guerriere, had been well 
handled, but her fire had been badly aimed ; and it began to be no 
longer believed that the broadside of an English ship was as formida- 
ble as it had been represented. It would seem that the Constitution 
actually wore six times, after the action had fairly commenced ; and 
allowing for the positions of the ships, the lightness of the wind, and 
the space that it was necessary to run, in order to avoid being raked 
while executing these evolutions, it is probable that the cannonade 
did not actually occupy an hour. The action must have terminated 
some miles to leeward of the spot where it commenced. t 

*Some touching anecdotes are related of the incidents of this combat. Two Marble- 
head seamen, brothers, of the name of Cheever, were on board the Constitution, one was 
killed, and the other mortally wounded. It is said that there were twins, midshipmen, 
in the Java, and that both were killed. 

tThc discussion in the public prints, which naturally followed the different combats, 
in nations speaking the same language, brought fortli some minute statements at the 
time, that seem to have been betterfounded than common. By one of these statements, 
which was evidently made by an officer of the Constitution, that ship mounted, in the 
action %vith the Java, 54 guns, and threw 677 lbs. 5oz. of metal at a broadside; the ap- 
parent deKciency between the metal and the known caliber of the guns, arising from 
shont weight in the shot. On the other hand the Java is said to have mounted 49 guns, 
and to have thrown 605 lbs. of metal at a broadside. It is affirmed in this account, that 
the Java's eighteens threw a shot tha-t weighed 19 lbs. If French eighteens, the shot 
ought to have weighed near 19A lbs., and the Java had certainly been a French ship. 
Whether she retained her old armament or not, is not known. That the American shot, 
during all this war, %vcrc generally light, would seem to be certain. There may not 
have been perfect accuracy in the statement alluded to, but it i.s probable that the actual 
difference between the bioadsides of the two ships, was much less than the apparent. 



72 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

On reaching St. Salvador, Commodore Bainbridge found the Hor- 
net ofl'the port, and it was understood that the Bonne Citoyenne had 
hove-short, with an intention of going to sea that night. The arrival 
of the Constitution appears to have produced a change in this plan, 
if it ever existed. Remaining a few days in port to land his prisoners, 
and to complete his arrangements, Commodore Bainbridge sailed 
for America, January G, 1813, and arrived at Boston on the 27th of 
February, after an absence of four months. 

The Hornet was left with orders that were substantially discretion- 
ary. She remained ofl' St. Salvador, blockading the Bonne Citoy- 
enne, alone, for eighteen days, when she was chased into the harbour 
by the Montagu 74, which vessel had come to relieve the enemy's 
sloop of war from the awkward necessity of fighting with so much 
treasure on board, or of the still more unpleasant dilemma of appear- 
ing indisposed to meet a ship of equal force.* It was late in the 
evening when the Montagu approached, and the Hornet availed her 
self of the darkness to ware and stand out again, passing into the 
offing without further molestation. 

Captain Lawrence now hauled by the wind, to the northward and 
eastward, with theintention of going oft' Pernambuco. He n)ade a 
few prizes, and continued cruising down the coast, until the 24th of 
February, when the ship was near the mouth of Demarara river. 
Here he gave chase to a brig, which drew him into quarter less five, 
Avhen, luwing no pilot, he deemed it prudent to haul oft' shore. At 
this moment he supposed himself to be about two and a half leagues 
from the fort at the entrance of the river. As she had an English 
ensign set, and bore every appearance of being a man-of-war, it was 
determined to attack her. While the Hornet was beating round the 
Carobana bank, which lay between her and the enemy, with a view 
to f2t at the latter, another sail was made on her weather quarter, 
edging down towards her. It was now half past 3 P. M., and the 
Hornet continuing to turn to windward, with her original intention, 
by twenty minutes past 4 the second stranger was made out to be a 
large man-of-war brig, and soon after he showed English colours. 

As soon as her captain was satisfied that the vessel approaching 
was an enemy, the Hornet was cleared for action, and her people 
went to quarters. The ship was kept close by the wind, in order to 
gain the weather gage, the enemy still running free. At 5 10, feel- 
ing certain that he could weather the Englishman, Captain Lawrence 
showed his colours and tacked. The two vessels were now standing 
towards each other, with their heads difterent ways, both close by 
the wind. They passed witiiin half pistol-shot at 5 25, delivering 

''Tlie commanderof ihe Bonne Citoyenne ■was much sneered at, in the pubhcations of 
the day, for not going out to meet the Hornet. The censures, hkethe commendation, of 
ignorance and passion, are of no great importance, and he is entitled to the highest praise 
who can perform his duty without regarding either. It would be very dilKcult to show 
that a ship sent to convey treasure, ought to .seek a conflict with a vessel of even inferior 
force; and there may be many reasons that, if known, might reflect credit on a coiq- 
mander for refusing a challenge, which could have no connexion with even this particu- 
lar fact. Opinions on such subjects ought aKvays to be expressed with caution; and 
there can be no stronger evidence of the high level of the public mind, than is shown in 
an indisposition to listen to detraction of this character. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 73 

their broadsides as the guns bore ; each vessel vising the larboard 
battery- As soon as they were clear, the Englishman put his helm 
hard up, with the intention to ware short round, and get a raking fire 
at the Hornet, but the mana?uvre was closely watched.and promptly 
imitated, and, firing his starboard guns, he was obliged to right his 
helm, as the Hornet was coming down on his quarter, in a perfect 
blaze of fire. The latter closed, and maintaining the admirable posi- 
tion she had got, poured in her shot with such vigour, tliat a little 
before 5 40, the enemy not only lowered his ensign, but he lioisted it 
union down, in the fore-rigging, as a signal of distress. His main- 
mast soon after fell. 

Mr. J. T. Shubrickwas sent on board to take possession. This 
officer soon returned with the information that the prize was the ene- 
my's sloop of war Peacock 18, Captain Peake, and that she was fast 
sinking, having already six feet of water in her hold. Mr. Conner, 
the third lieutenant of the Hornet, and Mr. B. Cooper, one of her 
midshipmen, were immediately despatched with boats, to get out the 
wounded, and to endeavour to save the vessel. It was too late for the 
latter, though every exertion was made. Both vessels were imme- 
diately anchored, guns were thrown overboard, shot-holes plugged, 
and i-ecourse was had to the pumps, and even to bailing, but tlie short 
twilight of that low latitude soon left the prize-crew, before the 
prisoners could be removed. In the hurry and confusion of such a 
scene, and while the boats of the Hornet were absent, four of the 
Englishmen lowered the stern boat of the Peacock, which had been 
tliought too much injured to be used, jumped into it, and pulled for 
land, at the imminent risk of their lives.* 

Mr. Conner became sensible that the brig was in momentary dan- 
ger of sinking, and he endeavoured to muster the people remaining 
on board, in the Peacock's launch, which still stood on deck, the fall 
of the main-mast, and the want of time, having prevented an attempt 
to get it into the water. Unfortunately, a good many of the Peacock's 
people were below, rummaging the vessel, and when the brig gave 
her last wallow it was too late to save them. 

The Peacock settled very easily but suddenly, in five and a half 
fathoms water, and the two American officers, with most of the men 
and several prisoners saved themselves in the launch, though not 
without great exertions. Three of the Hornet's people went down 
in the brig, and nine of the Peacock's were also drowned. Four 
more of the latter saved themselves by running up the rigging into 
the foretop, which remained out of the Avater, after the hull had got 
to the bottom. The launch had no oars, and it was paddled by 
pieces of boards towards the Hornet, when it was met by one of the 
cutters of that ship, which was returning to the brig. The cutter 
immediately pulled towards the Peacock's fore-mast, in the hope of 
finding some one swimming, but, with the exception of those in the 
top, no person was saved. 

In this short encounter, the Peacock had her captain and four men 

'These adventurers got ashore safely. 



74 NAVAL HISTORY. [lSl3 

killed, and thirty-three wounded. The Hornet had one man killed, 
and two wounded, in addition to two men badly burned by the explo- 
sion of a cartridge. She suffered a good deal aloft, had one shot 
through the fgre-mast, and the bowsprit was hit. 

The Peacock was a vessel of the Hornet's size, being a little shorter 
but having more beam. Her proper armament was thirty-twos, but, 
for some reason that is not known, they had been changed for lighter 
guns, and in the action she mounted IG twenty-four pound carron- 
ades, 2 light long guns, a twelve ])ound carronade on her topgallant 
forecastle, and another light long gun aft. By her quarter bill she 
had KiO men on board, at the time she was taken. This force ren- 
dered her inferior to the Hornet, which ship mounted 18 thirty-two 
pound carronades and two long twelves. The Hornet in the action 
mustered 135 men fit for duty. 

Notwithstanding the superiority of the Hornet, the same disparity 
between the execution and the difference in force, is to be seen in this 
action, as in those already mentioned. In allowing the Hornet to 
get the weather gage, the Peacock was outmanoeuvred, but, with 
this exception, she is understood to have been well managed, though 
her gunnery was so defective. The only shot that touched the hull 
of the Hornet, was one fired as the latter ship was falling off, in 
waring, and it merely glanced athwart her bows, indenting a plank 
beneath the cat-head. As this must have been fired from the star- 
board guns of the Peacock, the fact demonstrates how well she was 
handled, and that, in waring, her commander had rightly estimated 
and judiciously used the peculiar powers of a brig, though the quick 
movements of his antagonist deprived him of the results he had 
expected, and immediately gave the Hornet a decided advantage in 
position. It would be cavilling to deny that this short combat was 
decided by the superior gunnery and rapid handling of the Hornet.* 

As the brig at anchor might come out and attack her, the greatest 
exertions were made on board the Hornet to be in readiness to receive 
the enemy, and by 9 o'clock at night, new sails had been bent, her 
boats were stowed, the ship was cleared, and every thing was ready 
for another action. At 2 A. M., she got under way, and stood to the 
northward and westward, under easy sail. Captain Lawrence find- 
ing that he had now 277 souls on board, including the people of 
another ])ri/,e, and that he was short of water, determined to return 
home. The allowance of water was reduced to three pints a man, 
and the ship ran through the West Indies, anchoring at Holmes's 
Hole, in Martha's Vineyard, on the 19th of March ; whence she 
came through the Vineyard and Long Island Sounds to New York, 
without meeting an enemy. 

'Il is said tliat the first shot lired by the Peacock cut away the Hornet s pennant. This 
could oiilv happen, from having struck the water at a most unfortunate angle. The man 
killed in the American sliip, was in the mizcn-top. Indeed, in mostof the combatsof this 
war, much seamansliip and great gallantry were discovered by the enemy, but he ap- 
peared singularly deficient in the knowledge of the means of turning these advantages to 
account. A great proportion of the men killed and wounded were aloft when they were 
hit. Had the guns of the Peacock been of the largest size, they could not have materi- 
ally changed the result of this conHict, as the weight of shot that do not hit, can be of no 
great moment. 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 75 

The successes of the Constitution and Hornet, two of the vessels 
of Commodore Bainbridge's squadron, served greatly to increase the 
popularity of the navy. Their commanders were rewarded with 
medals, swords, and votes of thanks, by diflerent legislatures, and 
Captain Lawrence was promoted, and transferred to the command 
of the Chesapeake. 

Congress, by this time, began to feel more confidence in the ability 
to withstand British prowess, and a law had been passed on the 2d of V 
January, to increase the naval force of the country. By the provi- <• 
sions of this act, the President w^as empowered to build four ships to \/' 
rate not less than seventy-four guns, and six ships to rate at forty-four 
guns each. This was at once multiplying the force of the navy ten- 
fold, and it may be esteemed the first step that was ever actually put 
ih execution, towards establishing a marine that might prove of mo- 
ment, in influencing the material results of a war. Measures were 
taken immediately to lay the keels of some of the ships of the line, 
and Commodore Bainbridge, being appointed to superintend the 
construction of one of them, relinquished the command of the Con- 
stitution. 

Another law passed, on the 3d of March, directing six sloops of 
war to be built on the ocean, and authorising the construction of as 
many vessels on the lakes as the public service required. Congress 
also voted handsome sums to the officers and crews of the ships that 
had destroyed captured vessels of war, in the way of prize-money. 

The history of the remaining ship of Commodore Bainbridge's 
squadron, shall be next given, with a view not to interrupt the connex- 
ion of this branch of the subject. 



CHAPTER VII. 



Essex sails to join Com. Bainbridge — Captures the Nocton — Nocton recaptured — Touch- 
es at different places without meeting the Commodore — Capt. Porter determines to go 
round the Horn — reaches Valparaiso — Captures a Peruvian corsair — makes several 
prizes of enemy's whalers — equips a cruiser, called the Georgiana 16, Lieut. Com. 
Downes — Paints and refits his own ship, at sea, living on the enemy. 

The Essex 32, has frequently been mentioned in the course of this 
history. This ship was properly rated, her gun-deck armament hav- 
ing originally consisted of 26 long twelves ; but it had been changed 
previously to the war, and with the exception of a few chase guns of 
this caliber, she mounted thirty-two-pound carronades in their places. 
Her first cruise was under Preble, when she carried the pennant of 
an American man-of-war, for the first time, to the eastward of the 
Cape of Good Hope, and she was now destined again to open the 
way for the navy into a new sea. 

When Commodore Bainbridge sailed from Boston, the Essex, 
still under the command of Captain Porter, w as lying in the Dela- 



76 NAVAL HISTORY. [1821. 

ware, and she quitted that river the 2Sth of October, or two days 
after the other ships of the squadron had got to sea. In anticipation 
of a long cruise, Captain Porter carried out with him a crew larger 
than common, and a greater number of officers than properly be- 
longed to a vessel of that class ; the entire muster-roll containing 
three hundred and nineteen names, among which were three com- 
missioned and two acting lieutenants, and twelve midshipmen. In 
consequence of the unusual amount of supplies that was taken in, 
the ship Avas too deep, and she did not reach the first rendezvous 
named in the orders of Commodore Bainbridge, until some time 
after the Constitution and Hornet had left it. 

The Essex was singularly unfortunate in not falling in witli an 
enemy of any sort in making this long run, and on the 11th of De- 
cember she crossed the equator in longitude 30*^ W., the same bad 
luck attending her. On the 12th, however, about 2 P. M., a vessel 
was seen to windward, which liad every appearance of an enemy's 
man-of-war brig, when sail was made in chase. At six, the stranger 
began to show signals, which went to confirm the idea of his charac- 
ter. As the chase was still to windward, and night was coming on 
fast, an unsuccessful eflort was made to decoy her down, by showing 
signals in return. At sunset the brig showed English colours, and, 
when it was sufficiently dark, she made some night-signals. By 9 
P. M. the Essex succeeded in getting within musket-shot. Captain 
Porter soon after hailed, and ordered the brig to settle her topsails, 
haul up her courses, and to heavc-to to windward. At the same time, 
orders were given to the difterent divisions not to fire into the stranger, 
as it was very desirable to get possession without doing him any 
injury. Instead of complying with the directions of Captain Porter, 
however, the brig endeavoured to cross the stern of the Essex, by- 
keeping away, probably with an intention to rake her, and to escape 
to leeward. This drew a volley of musketry from the frigate, which 
killed one man, when the brig struck. 

The prize was the British government packet Nocton 10, with a 
crew of 31 men. On board of her were found $55,000 in specie. 
The next day a crew of 17 men was put into the Nocton, under the 
orders of Acting Lieutenant Finch,* who was instructed to make the 
best of his way to America. This officer had got between Bermuda 
and the Capes of Virginia, in the execution of his duty, when he was 
compelled to heave to in a gale. Just as the weather moderated, a 
British frigate was made to windward. Mr. Finch tried the sailing 
of the brig with the enemy, on difierent tacks, but finally put away- 
dead before the wind, as the only means of escape. As it was not 
in the power of the prize crew to make sail with sufficient rapidity to 
compete with a frigate's complement of men, the Nocton was soon 
withm reach of the enemy's guns, and a few shot were fired, which 
did some injury to her rigging. Mr. Finch, howeVer, held on, until 
the enemy had got close upon his quarter, and was about to fire a volley 
of musketry, when, escape being hopeless, he struck. Thus did the 

*Now Captain William Complon Bolton 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 77 

Essex lose her first prize, though the specie had been taken out of 
her, and was rendered secure by being subsequently used on account 
of the government. 

On the 14th, the Essex made the island of Fernando de Noronha, 
and communicated with the land, without going in. Here Captain 
Porter obtained the letter mentioned from Commodore Baiubridge, 
informing him that he would find the otber vessels off Cape Frio. 
From this time, until the '25th, the ship was making her passage 
towards the coast, and on the afternoon of that day, she hove to off 
the pitch of the Cape, where no signs were to be seen of the Consti- 
tution or Hornet. Three days afterwards, in fact, the first of these 
vessels captured the Java off St. Salvador. After cruising a short 
time, at this rendezvous, the Essex was drawn a long distance to lee- 
ward in chase ; and in attempting to beat up again to her station, she 
was met by heavy weather, which induced Captain Porter to change . 
his cruising ground. On the morning of the 29th, the frigate cap- ^ 
tured an English merchant vessel, which proved to be one of a convoy 
of six sail, in charge of a man-of-war schooner, that had left Rio only 
the night previously, this vessel having put back in consequence of 
discovering a leak. On obtaining this intelhgence, Captain Porter 
followed the track of the convoy, and after a long and fruitless chase, 
lie determined to go off St. Salvador, in order to intercept it. While 
beating up with this intention, information was received from differ- 
ent Portuguese vessels, of the presence of the other ships of the 
squadron oft' the port, and renewed efl'orts were made to join. But 
strong northerly winds prevailed, and Captain Porter, after struggling 
with them a week, decided to run into St. Catherine's to water. 

Having been disappointed in his attempts to fall in with the com- 
jnodore, at three rendezvous, and ascertaining that the Montagu 74, 
had sailed from Rio to raise the blockade of the vessels at St. Salva- 
dor, Captain Porter was now greatly at a loss which way to steer, in 
order to join the other ships. It was near the end of January, 1813, 
and, in point of fact, the Constitution had left the coast on the Gth of 
that month, on her way home. As the Hornet followed her on the 
24th, in determining to act for himself, during the remainder of the 
cruise. Captain Porter came to a happy decision. 

An American frigate, at that day cruising under the circumstances 
of the Essex, was in a very peculiar and difficult position. The 
influence of Great Britain extended over the whole of the South. 
American continent, and nothing had been done by the American 
government to counteract it. In all the ports, on the east side of the 
continent in particular, little was to be expected from any of the 
local authorities ; and the nation was totally without dep8ts, or any 
provisions whatever, for the equipment of a man-of-war, out of its 
own ports. Even those that existed at home, were imperfect, on a 
small scale, and very insufficient. It cannot be too often repeated, 
that in connexion with this important branch of the public service, 
as in most others, the facts of the country had been permitted to. 
precede its opinion, and its necessities to press upon its meagre and 
incomplete preparations. Captain Porter now found himself far from. 

VOL. II. 5 



78 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

home, in what might ahTiost be termed an enemy's sea, and without 
any of those provisions for re-victualling, repairing, and obtaining 
military supplies, that are as indispensable in a naval as in a military 
campaion. In other words, he was thrown upon his own resources. 
In this novel situation, he determined to go still farther from home, 
to double Cape Horn, and, by making a dash at the English Avhalers 
in the Pacific, to live upon the enemy. The possession of the specie 
taken in the Nocton, and the knowledge that every Avhaler was well 
found in naval stores and provisions, their voyages commonly ex- 
tending to more than three years, i-endei-ed this project not only 
practicable but expedient. It was thought that England had no 
force in that sea to protect her commerce, with the exception of a 
single ship of the line, which it was understood was about to quit it ; 
and this bold scheme was, in truth, as much characterised by wis- 
dom and prudence, as it was by enterprise and spirit, qualities that 
equally indicate the accomplished officer. The season was late for 
doubling the Horn, it is true ; the ship was even then deficient in 
provisions and naval stores, but as Captain Porter has since explain- 
ed his situation, in his own journal, his course lay between the 
attempt, " capture, a blockade, and starvation." 

The Essex left St. Catherine's on the 26th of January, 1813, and 
after a most tempestuous passage round the Horn, she fell in with 
the pleasant southwest breeze of the Pacific Ocean on the 5th of 
March, and at meridian of that day her people got a distant view of 
the Andes. On the 5th, she anchored at the island of Mocha. Here 
some hogs and horses were procured for the crew, and it is worthy 
of remark, that the flesh of the latter was generally preferred to that 
of the former. 

The Essex was now fairly in the Pacific, though she had not 
fallen in with an enemy for two months. There was but one chart 
of the ocean in the ship, and that was very small and imperfect ; the 
provisions were getting short, and the vessel was much in want of 
cordage. Notwithstanding these necessities. Captain Porter felt 
reluctant to let his arrival be known until he had made a few cap- 
tures, hoping to supply his ship from his prizes. Anxious to obtain 
information of the Bi'itish force, by the same means, he determined 
to cruise a short time before he proceeded to Valparaiso. An ill 
fortune, however, continued to prevail, and for many days the ship 
was enveloped in fogs. Siie continued standing along shore, to the 
northward ; and on the 13th, while running before a stiff southerly 
bfeeze, she rounded the Point of Angels, shot into full view of the 
port and town of Valparaiso, and was becalmed under the guns of a 
v'battery. 

As he had English colours flying, Captain Porter came to a con- 
clusion not to go in, for, taking a survey of the shipping in port, and 
perceiving several Spaniards ready to sail, he thought it prudent to 
let them get to sea before the arrival of an American cruiser became 
known in the place. One American was seen lyinsf at anchor; a 
deeply laden bi-ig, pierced for 18 guns. This vessel had her yards 
and topmasts struck, and boarding nettings triced up, as if she dis- 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 79 

trusted her security, even in port. The ship's head was consequently 
kept to the northward, and the breeze striking her again, she ran the 
town out of sight in an hour or two. On the 15th, however, the ship 
returned, made the Point of Angels once more, went in, and 
anchored. 

To the astonishment of Captain Porter, he now ascertained that 
Chili had declared itself independent of Spain, and his reception was 
as favourable as he could have desired. lie also learned that the 
Viceroy of Peru had sent out cruisers against American shipping, 
and that his appearance in the Pacific was of the greatest importance 
to the American trade, which lay at the mercy of the English letters 
of marque, and of these Peruvian corsairs. This was cheering intel- 
ligence, after the fatigues and disappointments of a cruise of so many 
months. 

For more than a week the Essex was employed in victualling, and 
during this time an American whaler came in from the islands. 
Accordinir to the accounts of the master of this vessel, the American 
whalers, which had left home during a time of peace, lay entirely at 
the mercy of those of the enemy, several of which had sailed as reg- 
ular letters of marque, and all of which were more or less armed. 
Many of the American vessels, as they often kept the sea six months 
at a time, were probably still ignorant of the war ; and it v.^as known 
that one of them, at least, had already fallen into the hands of the 
English. As soon as imperfectly victualled, the ship went to sea, to 
profit by this intelligence. 

On the 2oth, the Essex fell in with the American whale ship 
Charles, and learned that two other vessels, the AValker and Barclay, 
had been captured, a few days previously, off Coquimbo, by a Peru- 
vian, with an English ship in company. Sail was made, in conse- 
quence, in the direction of Coquimbo, and, a few hours later, a 
stranger was seen to the northward. This vessel was soon ascer- 
tained to be a cruising ship, disguised as a whaler. She showed 
Spanish colours, when the Essex set an English ensign, fired a gun 
to leeward, and the Charles which remained in company, hoisted 
the American flag, beneath an English jack. The Spaniard now 
ran down, and, when about a mile distant, he fired a shot ahead of 
the Essex, which that ship answered by throwing a few shot over him, 
to bring him nearer. When close enough, the Spanish ship sent an 
armed boat to board the Essex, and it was directed to go back with 
an order for the cruiser to run under the frigate's lee, and to send an 
officer to apologise for the shots he had fired at an English man-of- 
war. This command was complied with, and the ship was ascei"- 
tained to be the Peruvian privateer Nereyda, armed with 15 guns, 
and with a fidl crew. The lieutenant, who now came on board, 
informed Captain Porter that they were cruising for Americans; 
that they had already taken the "Walker and Barclay ; that the Eng- 
lish letter of marque Nimrod had driven their prize-crew from on 
board the Walker ; that they were then cruising expressly to look for 
the Nimrod, with the intention of obtaining redress ; and that they 
had mistaken the Essex for the latter ship. It would seem that the 



80 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813- 

Peruvians cruised against the Americans, under the impression that 
Spain, then so dependent on England for her existence, would 
declare war speedily against the United States, in consequence of 
the war declared by the latter against the King of Great Britain, 
which might legalise their captures. 

An interview with the master of the Walker satisfied Captain Por- 
ter that the captured ships had been illegally seized ; and hoisting 
American colours, he fired two shots over the Nereyda, when that 
vessel struck. Her crew were all sent on board the Essex, and the 
three ships stood in-shore to look into Coquimbo, in the hope of find- 
ing the Nimrod and the prizes, but without success. The next 
morning, the entire armament of tiie Nereyda, with all her ammuni- 
tion, shot, small arms, and light sails, were thrown overboard, and 
she was otherwise put in a condition to do no harm, when she was 
released. It is worthy of remark, that the guns of this vessel were 
of iron, while her shot of all descriptions were of copper ; the abun- 
dance of the latter in that part of the world, rendering it cheaper 
than the metal usually employed for such purposes. 

From the master and crew of the Barclay, Captain Porter obtained 
a list of such of the whaling vessels as they knew to be in the Pacific 
It contained the names of twenty -three Americans, and often Eng- 
lish ships. The former was probably tlie most correct, as his 
informants added that quite twenty Englishmen were thought to be 
in that sea. The latter were, in general, fine vessels of near 400 
tons burthen, and, as has been said already, they were all more or 
less armed. 

Captain Porter had now a double object ; to protect his country 
men and to capture the enemy. The latter were known to resort to 
the Gallipagos, but he hesitated about sti-iking a blow in that quarter, 
until he could be assured that the Standard 64, had left Lima for 
England ; and, as he thought the prizes of the Nimrod and Nereyda 
would endeavour to go into that port, he determined to make the 
best of his way thither, in order to cut them off, as well as to recon- 
noitre. 

On the 2Sth of April, the ship was up with the island of San Gal- 
Ian, when she hauled off to the northward and westward, with a view 
to cross the track of inward-bound vessels. The next day, three sai' 
were made, standing for Callao. Every thing was set to cut the 
strangers off, particularly the one nearest in, who had the appearance 
of the Barclay. The chase, however, would have escaped, had she 
not been becalmed when she doubled the point of San Lorenzo. At 
this moment the frigate was near a league distant, but, fortunately, 
she kept the breeze until she had got within a hundred yards of the 
enemy, when she lowered her boats, and took possession. The 
prize proved to be the Barclay, as had been expected. There was 
now a good opportunity of looking into the harbour, and finding that 
nothing had arrived from Valparaiso to disclose his presence in the 
Pacific, Captain Porter showed English colours, while the Barclay 
hoisted the American under the enemy's ensign. In this manner 
both vessels went into the offing, where the Barclay was given up to 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 81 

her proper officers, thouojh most of her crew having entered in the 
Essex, and declining to rejoin the ship, her master preferred keep- 
ing in company with the frigate, offering to act as a pilot in searching 
for the enemy. With this understanding, the two vessels stretched 
off tlie coast, to the northward and westward. 

From the end of March until the middle of April, the Essex, with 
the Barclay in company, was standinsf across from the main towards 
the islands, and on the 17th, she made Chatham Island ; but no ship 
was found there. From this place the frigate went to Charles's Island, 
where she had the same want of success. Attlie latter island, how- 
ever, was a box called " the post-office," in which the masters of the 
wholers were accustomed to leave written accounts of their luck and 
movements, and much information was obtained from them, con- 
cerning the different ships in the Pacitic. 

The Essex continued passing from island to island, without meet- 
ing with any thing, until her crew was aroused by the cheering cry 
of" sail ho !" on the morning of the 29th. A ship was made to the 
westward, and, soon after, two more a little further south. Chase 
was iriven to the first vessel, which was spoke under English colours, 
about 9 A. M. She proved to be the British whale-ship Montezuma, 
with 1400 barrels of oil on board. Throwing a crew into the prize, 
the Essex next made sail after the two other ships, which had taken 
the alarm, and endeavoured to escape. At 11 A. M.,when the frigate 
was about eight miles from the two strangers, it fell calm, and the 
boats were hoisted out and sent asfainst the enemy, under Mr. 
Downes, the first lieutenant. About 3 P. M. the party got within a 
mile of the nearest ship, when the two strangers, who were a quarter 
of a mile apart, hoisted English colours, and fired several guns. 
TIio boats now formed, and pulled for the largest ship, which kept 
training her guns on them as they approached, but struck without 
firing a shot, just as the boarders were closing. The second vessel 
imitated her example, when attacked in the same manner.* 

Tlie prizes were the Georifiana and tlie Policy, both whalers ; and 
the three ships, together, furnished the Essex with many important 
supplies. They had bread, beef, pork, cordage, water, and among 
otiier useful things, a great number of Gallipagos tortoises. 

The Georgiana had been built for the service of the English East 
India Company, and having the reputation of being a fast vessel, 
Cai)tain Porter determined to equip her as a cruiser, with the double 
purpose of having an assistant in looking for the enemy, and of pos- 
sessing a consort to receive his own crew in the event of any acci- 
dent's occurring to the Essex. This ship was pierced for 18 guns, 
and had G mounted when taken. The Policy was also pierced for 
the same number, and had 10 guns mounted. The latter were now 
added to the armament of the Georgiana, which gave her 16 light 
guns. All the small arms were collected from the prizes and put in 

''The reader may get an idea of a seaman's life, in these little incidents. In 1802, we 
have seen Captain Porter, as a lieutenant, croing in boats, with Mr. Downes, then a mid- 
shipman, as an assistant, against Turks in the Mediterranean ; and here we find the firsl, 
as a captain, directing the movements of the second, his first lieutenant, ten years later, 
in the Pacific, again.st Englishmen. 



82 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 



her, her try-v/orks were taken down, and other alterations made, 
when Mr. Downes was pkiced in command, with a crew of 41 men. 
By this arrangement, it was helieved that the Georgiana Avould be 
fully able to capture any of the English letters of marque, known to 
be cruising among the islands. In consequence of these changes, 
and the manning the two other prizes, notwithstanding several enlist- 
ments, the crew of the Essex was reduced to 264 souls, officers 
included. On the 8th of May, the Georgiana 16, Lieutenant Com- 
mandant Downes, hoisted the American pennant, and fired a salute 
of 17 guns. 

It being uncommonly fine weather. Captain Porter seized the 
opportunity of repairing his own ship, by means of the stores ob- 
tained from the enemy. The rigging was overhauled and tarred 
down, many new spars were fitted, and the ship was painted in the 
middle of the Pacific, the enemy furnishing the means. 



CHAPTER Vni. 



Cruise of the E.ssex and Georgiana — Captures of the British whalers Atlantic and Gree»- 
wichby the Essex — Capture of the British whale ships Catherine and Rose by the 
Geoi'giana — Sharp combat with and capture of the Hector by the same — The Georgi- 
ana is despatched for America, with oil — Lieut. Downes and crew transferred to the 
prize sliip Atlantic, (Essex Junior) — Tlie Essex captures the English whalers Charl- 
ton, Seringainitam and New Zealander — The prisoners of the Essex are .sent in the 
Charlton to Kio Janeiro, on parole — The Rose is given up to the prisoners of the Geor- 
giana, and sent to St. Helena — The ship Sir Andrew Hammond taken by the Essex 
— Capt. Porter proceeds to the Marquesas to refit. 

A FEW trials, as soon as the ships made sail, proved that the Geor- 
giana could not hold way with the Essex, and that her reputatio i, as 
a fast vessel, was unmerited. Still, as she had been relieved frona 
much of her lumber, she outsailed the other ships, and hopes were 
entertained of lier being made usefid. Accordingly, on the 1:2th, 
she parted company, with orders to cruise against the enemy, and to 
rendezvous at diftercnt places on the coast, as well as at various 
islands, in a regular succession as to time. The separation was not 
long, however, the Georgiana looking into Charles's Island, in quest 
of English vessels, at a moment when the Essex happened to be 
there on the same errand. 

The Georgiana was now sent to Albemarle Ispnd, Captain Por- 
ter having reason to suppose that a particulaV sh jp of the enemy was 
in that quarter. The chaplain, having beefiallqwed to make a short 
scientific excursion in boats, fell in with a strange sail on returning, 
and tlic Essex immediately went to sea in quest of her. But a cruise 
of several days was fruitless ; and the ship continued passing among 
the islands, in the hope of falling in witli something. An attempt to 
get across to the continent was defeated by the lightness of the winds 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 83 

and the strength of the westerly currents ; and on the 25th of May, 
the Essex was still in the neiiihhourhood of Cliarles's Island. 

On the afternoon of the 28th, however, a sail was made ahead, and 
a general chase was given, the Policy, Montezuma, and Barclay being 
all in company. At sunset, the stranger was visible from the frigate's 
deck. By distributing the vessels in a proper manner, the chase 
was in sight next morning ; and after a good deal of manoeuvring, 
the Essex got alongside of her, and captured the British whaler At- 
lantic, of 355 tons, 24 men, and 8 eighteea-pound carronadcs. This 
ship, however, was pierced for 20 guns. 

Another strange sail had been made while in chase of the Atlantic, 
and she was ])ursued and overtaken in the course of the night. This 
ship was the Greenwich, of 338 tons, 10 guns, and 25 men. Both 
the Atlantic and Greenwich had letters of marque, and being fast 
ships, were extremely dangerous to the American trade in the Pacific. 
When the Essex took these vessels, every officer but the cajjtain, the 
chaplain, captain's clerk, and boat-swain, were out of her, either in 
boats, or in })rizes ; the firfet having been lowered in a calm to chase, 
and left to be picked up by the Montezuma, when a breeze struck 
the frigate. 

As Captain Porter had now four large prizes in company, besides 
the Georgiana and the Barclay, it became necessary to put even the 
marine officer, Lieutenant Gamble, in charge of one of them, when 
he shaped his course for Tunibez, on the continent, where he an- 
chored on the 19th of June. Here the ships remained until the 
morning of the 24th, when three sail were discovered standing into 
the bay. As soon as they had got within two leagues, the leading- 
vessel hove to and sent in a boat, on board of which was Mr. Downes. 
By this arrival an account of the movements of the Georgiana was 
obtained. 

While cruising near James's Island, Mr. Downes had captured 
the British whale ships the Catherine, of 270 tons, 8 guns, and 29 
men, and the Rose, of 220 tons, 8 guns, and 21 men. These two 
vessels were taken with no resistance, their masters having come on 
board the Georgiana, without suspecting her character. After man- 
ning his ])rizes, Mr. Downes had but 20 men and boys left in the 
Georgiana, when he chased and closed with a third whaler, called 
the Hector, a ship of 270 tons, 25 men, and 11 guns, though pierced 
for 20. At this time, Mr. Downes had also 50 prisoners, most of 
whom he was compelled to put in irons, before he brought the Hec- 
tor to action.* When within hail, the latter ship was ordered to 
Jiaul down her colours, but refused, and the Georgiana opened a fire 
upon her. A sharp combat followed, when the Hector struck, with 
the loss of her main-topmast, having had most of her standing and 

*It is a curious fact, illustiaiive of the strong identity which exists on certain points, 
between die feelings of Englisli and American seamen, that when tlie Georgiana went 
alongside of the Hector, in the night, it was under the impression the latter was a Spanish 
cruiser, out of Lima, and the prisoners, to a man, volunteered to help flog her ! Their 
services were declined, of course, but tlie otter appears to have been made in perfect 
good faith. 



*84 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

running-rigging shot away. She had also two men killed, and six 
wounded. 

After manning the Hector, Mr. Downes had but 10 men left in the 
Georgiana ; and, including the wounded, he had 73 prisoners. The 
Rose being a dull ship, he threw overboard her guns, and most of 
her cargo, and paroUing his prisoners, he gave her up to them, on 
condition that they should sail direct for St. Helena. As soon as 
this arrangement was made, he made sail for Tumbez, to join the 
Essex. 

The little fleet now amounted to nine sail, and there was an oppor- 
tunity to make new arrangements. The Atlantic being nearly 100 
tons larger than the Georgiana, as well as a much faster ship, besides 
possessing, in a greater degree, every material quality for a cruiser, 
Mr. Downes and his crew were transferred to her. Twenty guns 
were mounted in this new sloop of war; she was named the Essex 
.Junior, and manned with GO men. The Greenwich was also con- 
verted into a store-ship, and all the spare stores of the other vessels 
were sent on board hei*. She was also armed Avith 20 guns, though 
her crew was merely strong enougli to work her. 

On the ;JOth, the fleet sailed, the Essex and Essex Junior keeping 
in company, with all the carpenters at work at the latter. On the 
4th of July, a general salute was tired, principally with the guns and 
ammunition of the enemy. On the 9th, the Essex Junior parted 
company, bound to Valparaiso, with the Hector, Catherine, Policy, 
and Montezuma, prizes, and the Barclay, recaptured ship, under 
convoy. 

As soon as out of sight of the other ships, the Essex, Greenwich, 
and Georgiana steered to the westward, with an intention of going 
among the Gallipagos. On the 13th, three sail were made oft'Banks' 
Bay, all on a wind, and a good deal separated. The Essex gave 
chase to the one in the centre, which led her down to leeward, leav- 
ing the Greenwich and Georgiana a long distance astern and to wind- 
ward. While the frigate was thus separated from her prizes, one of 
the strangers tacked, and endeavoured to cut the latter ofl', but the 
Greenwich hove-to, got a portion of the people out of the Georgiana, 
and bore down boldly on her adversary ; while the Essex continued 
■>£ after the vessel she was chasing, which she soon captured. The 
ship was the English whaler Charlton, of 274 tons, 10 guns, and 21 
men. Throwing a crew into her, the frigate immediately hauled 
her wind. 

It was now ascertained from the prisoners, that the largest of the 
strange ships was the Seringapatam, of 357 tons, 14 guns, and near 
40 men ; and the smallest, the New Zetxlander, of 259 tons, 8 guns, 
and 23 men. The Seringapatam had been built for a cruiser, and 
she was probably the most dangerous vessel to the American trade 
to the westward of Cape Horn. Captain Porter felt a corresponding 
desire to get possession of her, and was much gratified with the bold 
manner in which the Greenwich had borne down on her. This ship 
was under the command of a very young officer, but he had the ad- 
vice of one of the sea-lieutenants, who was under suspension, and 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 85 

who behaved with great ganantry and spirit on this occasion. Clos- 
ing with the Seringapatam, the Essex being a long distance to lee- 
vvard, the Greenw'ich brought her to action, and after a few broad- 
iiides, the English ship struck. Soon after, liowever, and before 
possession could be taken, she made an attempt to escape by passing 
to windward, in which she was frustrated by the perseverance of the 
Greenwich, which vessel kept close on the enemy's quarter, main- 
taining a spirited fire, for the number of men on board. As the 
Essex was coming up fast, the Seringapatam finally gave up the jj^ 
attempt, and running down to the frigate, again submitted. 

In this afl^air, as in that of the boats, and in the capture of the 
Hector by the Georciana, the officers and men engaged merited high 
encomiums for their intrepidity and coolness. The Greenwich, 
after obtaining the hands from the Georgiana, did notprobably muster 
five-and-twenty men at quarters, and the Seringapatam was much j^ 
the better ship. The New Zealander was taken without any >r 
difficulty. 

The Seringapatam had made one prize, her master having turned V 
his attention more to cruising than to whaling. On inquiry, not- 
withstanding, it was found that he had adopted this course in antici- 
pation of a commission, having actually sailed without one. When 
this fact was ascertained. Captain Porter put the master in irons, and V 
he subsequently sent him to America to be tried. Finding himself 
embarrassed with his prisoners. Captain Porter gave them up the 
Charlton, and suffered them to proceed to Rio de Janeiro, under 
their parole. He then took the guns out of the New Zealander, and 
mounted them in the Seringapatam, by which means he gave the 
latter ship an armament of •22 guns, though, as in the case of the 
Greenwich, her people were barely sufficient to work her. 

On the 25th of July, tbe Georgiana was despatched to the United 
States, with a full cargo of oil. In making up a crew for her, an 
opportunity was found of sounding the feeling of the men whose times 
were nearly expired, and it w^as ascertained that few wished to profit 
by the circumstance. As soon as the vessels separated, the Essex, 
with the Greenwich, Seringapatam, and New Zealander in com- 
pany, shaped her course for Albemarle Island. On the morning of 
the 28th, another strange sail was discovered ; but as she had a fresh 
breeze, and the frigate was becalmed, she was soon out of sight. 
When the wind came, however, the Essex ran in a direction to inter- 
cept the stranger ; and the next morning he was again seen, from 
the mast-head, standing across the Essex's bows, on a bowline. As 
the wind was light, recourse was now had to the drags,* and the ship 
got within four miles of the chase, which was evidently an enemy's 
whaler. The stranger becoming alarmed, got his boats ahead to tow, 
when Captain Porter sent a gig and whale-boat, with a few good 

"These dras^s were an invention of Captain Porter's, and were often used during the 
cruise. A triangular canvass paddle, that had v^'eisrhtson one side, was connected with 
the spritsail-yard and an out-rigirer aft. When hauled upon aft, it forced the ship ahead, 
and atriciuET line drew it forward again on the surface of the water, in the manner of a 
log-chip. The Essex could be urged through the water two knots by this process, 
though it was found to be excessively laborious. 



86 NAVAL HISTORY [1813. 

marksmen in them, under Acting Lieutenant M'Knight, with orders 
to take a jDosition ahead of the chase, and to drive in her boats, but 
on no account to attempt to board. This duty was handsomely exe- 
cuted, though the boats had great difFicuUy in maintaining their 
position within musket-shot, as the enemy got two guns on the fore- 
castle, and kept up a warm discharge of grape. 

At 4 P. M., the ships were little more than a league apart, perfectly 
becalmed, and Captain Porter ordered the boats into the water, to 
carry the stranjjer by boarding. As the party drew near, the enemy 
commenced firing, but, intimidated by their steady and orderly ap- 
proach, he soon lowered his ensign. The boats were about to take 
possession, when a breeze from the eastward suddenly striking the 
English ship, she hauled up close on a wind, hoisted her colours 
again, fired at the gig and whale-boat as she passed quite near them, 
and went off, at a rapid rate, to the northward. The party attempted 
to follow, but it was sunset before the Essex got the wind, and, 
dislikmg to leave her boats out in the darkness, she was compelled 
to heave to, at 9, in order to hoist them in. The next morning the 
chase was out of sight. 

This was the first instance, since her arrival in the Pacific, in 
which the Essex had failed in getting alongside of a chase that she 
did not voluntarily abandon. It produced much mortification, 
though the escape of the eneniy was owing to one of those occur- 
rences, so common in summer, that leave one ship without a breath 
of air, while another, quite near her, has a good breeze. 

On the 4th of August, the ships Avent into James's Island and 
anchored. Here Captain Porter made the important discovery that 
a large portion of his powder had been damaged in doubling Cape 
Horn. Fortunately, the Seringapatam could supply the deficiency, 
though, in doing so, that ship was rendered nearly defenceless. On 
the 22d of August, all the vessels proceeded to Banks' Bay, where 
the prizes were moored, and the Essex sailed on a short cruise, alone, 
on the 24th. 

After passing among the islands, without meeting any thing, a sail 
was discovered on the morning of the loth of September, ap])arently 
lying to, a long distance to the southwaj'd and to windward. The 
Essex was immediately disguised, by sending down some of the light 
yards, and the ship kept turning to windward, under easy sail. At 
meridian, the vessels were so near each other, that the stranger was 
ascertained to be a whaler, in the act of cutting in. He was evi- 
dently driftin<r down fast on the frigate. At 1 P. M. when the ships 
were about four miles apart, the stranger cast off from the whales, 
and made all sail to windward. As it was now evident that he had 
taken the alarm, the Essex threw aside all attempts at disguise, and 
pursued him, under every thing that would draw. By 4 P. M. the 
frigate had the stranger within reach of her guns, and a few shot well 
thrown, brought him down under her lee. This ship was the Sir 
Andrew Hammond, of 301 tons, 12 guns, and 31 men ; and she 
proved to be the vessel that had escaped, in the manner previously 
related. Fortunately, the prize had a large supply of excellent beef, 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 87 

pork, bread, wood, and water, and the Essex got out of her an am- 
ple stock of those jrreat necessaries. On returning to Banks' Bay 
with her prize, the ship shortly after was joined by the Essex Junior, 
on her return from Valparaiso. By this arrival. Captain Porter dis- 
covered that several enemy's vessels of force had sailed in pursuit of 
him ; and having by this time captured nearly all the English whalers 
of which he could obtain intelligence, he determined to proceed to 
the Marquesas, in order to refit, and to make his preparations for 
returning to America. He was urged to adopt this resolution, also, 
by understanding from Mr. Downes, that the government of Chili no 
longer preserved the appearance of amity towards the United States, 
but was getting to be English in its predilections. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Capt. Porter, with his ships, puts in at Nooahecvah to overhaul — Brief notice of tlie Essex , 
and her service — The New Zealandei-, with oil despatched for America — Fortbuih at 
Nooaheevah and Lieut. Gamble put in command — The Essex and Essex Junior de- 
part for the coast of South America — Arrival of the British ships Phoebe and Chernb, 
while anchored at Valparaiso — Putting out to fea, the Essex is struck by a scjuall — 
She regains the port— Attack on the Essex by the Phojbe and Cherub— Surrender of 
theEssex--The Essex Junior proceeds to America as a cartel— Fate of the party left 
at Nooaheevah. 

On the 23d of Octolier, the group of the Marquesas was made 
from the mast-head of the Essex, and after passing among the islands 
for a few days. Captain Porter took his ships into a fine bay of 
Nooaheevah, where he anchored. Here he was soon after joined by 
the Essex Junior, which vessel had parted company to cruise, when 
he believed himself sufiiciently secure, to commence a regular over- 
hauling of the diflerent ships. 

The situation of the Essex was sufficiently remarkable, at this mo- 
ment, to merit a brief notice. She had been the first American to 
carry the pennant of a man-of-war round the Cape of Good Hope, 
and now she had been the first to bring it into this distant ocean. 
More than ten thousand miles from home, without colonies, stations, 
or even a really friendly port to repair to, short of stores, without a 
consort, and otherwise in possession of none of the required means of 
subsistence and efficiency, she had boldly steered into this distant 
region, where she had found all that she required, through her own 
activity ; and having swept the seas of her enemies, she had now 
retired to these little-frequented islands to refit, with the security of 
a ship at home. It is due to the officer, who so promptly adopted, 
and so successfully executed this plan, to add, that his enterprise, 
self-reliance and skill, indicated a man of bold and masculine con- 
ception, of great resources, and of a high degree of moral courage ; 
qualities that are indispensable in forming a naval captain. 



NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 



In the way of service to the public, perhaps the greatest performed 
by the Essex was in protecting the American ships in the Pacific, 
nearly all of which would probably have fallen into the hands of the 
enemy, but for her appearance in that ocean. But the positive injury 
doi^e the English commerce was far from trifling. The Essex had 
now captured about 4000 tons of its shipping, made near 400 prison- 
ers, and for the moment had literally destroyed its fisheries in this 
part of the world. In October, 1812, she had sailed from America 
alone, with six months' provisions and the usual stores in her ; and 
in October, 1813, she was lying, in perfect security, at an island of 
the Pacific, with a respectable consort, surrounded by prizes, and in 
possession of all the means that were necessary to render a frigate 
of her class eflicient. Throughout the whole of these movements, 
we see a constant tendency to distress the enemy, and to maintain 
the character of the ship as an active, well organized, and high-toned 
man-of-war. 

It is an incident worthy of being mentioned in the history of this 
unusual cruise, that when the Essex stood into the land, in first ap- 
proaching the Marquesas, a boat came ofl^ with three white men in 
her, one of whom proved to be Mr. John Maury, a midshipman of 
the navy, who had been left by the master of an American trader, 
himself a lieutenant in the service, to gather sandal-wood while the 
ship was gone to China. As it was supposed the war would pre- 
vent the return of his ship, Mr. Maury and his party were received 
on board the frigate.* 

The island of Nooaheevah, on which Captain Porter landed his 
stores, was intersected by valleys, and different tribes possessed them, 
forming distinct communities, which not unfrequently waged war on 
each other, converting this little and retired fragment of the earth 
into an epitome of the passions and struggles of the world beyond it. 
In consequence of his intimate connexion with the inhabitants of the 
valley in which he was accidentally thrown. Captain Porter was 
compelled to join in these hostilities, the assailants of his allies be- 
ginning to treat him as an enemy. After some fruitless negotiating, 
a party was sent against the hostile tribe, and several conflicts 
occurred, in which the armed seamen and marines prevailed, as a 
matter of course, though not without a sharp resistance. This suc- 
cess quieted the island ; and during the remainder of his stay Cap- 
tain Porter appears to have been unmolested. 

It has been seen, that the Essex reached the Marquesas at the close 
of October, and in the early part of December she was again ready 
for sea. In the course of November, the New Zealander was filled 
with oil, from the other prizes, and despatched for America, under 
the charge of a master's mate.f Shortly after, a fort was construct- 
ed on a small conical hill, near the water, when the Seringapatam, 

* The officer in command of the merchantman was Mr. Lewis, then a lieutenant, and 
subsequently a master and commander. Mr. Maury was promoted not long after, and 
lost his life by yellow fever while first lieutenant of a vessel on the West India station. 
Both these gentlemen were much respected in the service. 

t Both the Georgiana and New Zealander were recaptured on the American coast. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 89 

Sir Andrew Hammond, and Greenwich, were warped close in, and 
moored under its guns. Tlie command of this fort was i>iven to 
Lieutenant John M. Gamble, of the marines, a spirited and intelU- 
gent young officer ; and Messrs. FeUus and Clapp, two of the mid- 
shipmen, with twenty-one men, were put under his orders, having 
volunteered to remain on the island during the contemplated cruise 
of the Essex. This arrangement was made to secure the means of 
future repairs, as it was now believed that no more whalers were to 
be found, and the Essex was going to sea, in the expectation of 
meeting one of the frigates that it was known had been sent into the 
Pacific, in pursuit of her. 

The Essex, and Essex Junior, quitted the harbour of Nooaheevah, 
on the 12th of December, 1813, bound for the coast of South 
America, which was made early in January. After watering at San 
Maria, and looking into Conception, the ships proceeded to Valpa- 
raiso. Up to this time, not a dollar had been drawn for, to meet the V 
expenses of the frigate. The enemy had furnished provisions, sails, 
cordage, medicines, guns, anchors, cables, and slops. A considera- 
ble amount of pay even had been given to the officers and men, by 
means of the money taken in the Nocton. Thus far, the cruise had 
been singularly useful and fortunate, affording an instance of the 
perfection of a naval warfare, in all that relates to distressing an ene- 
my, with the least possible charge to the assailants ; and it remained 
only to terminate it with a victory, over a ship of equal force, to ren- 
der it brilliant. It is, perhaps, a higher eulogium on the officers and 
crew ofthis memorable little frigate to add, that while her good fortune 
appeared at last to desert her, they gave this character to their enter- 
prise, by the manner in which they struggled with adversity. 

Afler the arrival at Valparaiso, it was found that the feelings of 
the Chilian government had taken an entirely new direction, as had 
been reported by Mr. Downes, favouring on all occasions the interests 
of the English, in preference to those of the Americans. Without 
paying much regard to this circumstance, however. Captain Porter 
determined to remain in, or off, the port, in waiting for the PhcRbe 
36, Captain Hillyar, one of the ships sent out in quest of him, under 
the impression that her commander would not fail, sooner or later, 
to seek him at that place. There was also the prospect of intercept- 
ing such of the English traders as might happen to touch at that port. 

The Phoebe arrived as was expected, but instead of coming alone, 
she had the Cherub 20, Captain Tucker, in company. When these 
ships hove in sight, the Essex Junior was cruising off the harbour, 
and she came in and anchored. As the Phoebe alone was a vessel 
of a heavier rate than the Essex, this addition to her force put a con- 
flict between the four ships quite out of the question. Captain Porter, 
who had every opportunity of observing the armaments of the two 
English vessels, states, in his official communications to the depart- 
ment, that the Phoebe mounted 30 long eighteens, 16 thirty-two- 
pound carronades, with 1 howitzer, and 6 threes in her tops. This 
was a forced equipment for a ship of her rate, but she had probably 



90 NAVAL HISTORY. [181.4. 

taken in extra guns with a view to meet the Essex.^ Her crew is 
said to have consisted of 320 souls. The Cherub 20, mounted 18 
thirty two-pound carronades below, with 8 twenty-four-pound carron- 
ades and 2 long nines above, making a total of 28 guns, and her 
crew mustered 180 men and boys. In consequence of the number 
of prizes that had been manned, some deaths that had occurred, and 
the people placed in the Essex Junior, the American frigate could 
muster but 255 souls, notwithstanding the enlistments she had made 
from the whalers. The force of the Essex Junior was too incon- 
siderable to be relied on, in an action against ships of a metal as heavy 
as that of the enemy. She mounted 10 eighteen-pound carronades 
and 10 short sixes, with a crew of 60 souls. Her guns would have 
been of little service in a frigate action. 

As the Phoebe came in, the wind was light, and she passed quite 
near the Essex, with her people at quarters. Captain Ilillyar hailed, 
and inquired after the health of Captain Porter. After making the 
usual reply, the latter informed the English officer that if the vessels 
got foul, much confusion would ensue, and that he could not be 
answerable for the consequences. Captain Hillyar now observed 
that he did not meditate any attack, though the manner in which this 
was uttered, does not appear to have quieted the suspicions of the 
American officers. While the two vessels and their crews were in 
this novel position, the Phoebe was taken suddenly aback, and her 
bows payed off directly upon the Essex. Captain Porter immedi- 
ately called away his boarders, and for a few minutes there was every 
appearance of a combat in a neutral port. 

A great deal of confusion is said to have existed on board the 
Phcebe, and her commander was earnest in his protestations of an 
intention not to have recourse to hostilities, while he handled his 
yards in a way to get a stern-board on his ship. As she fell off, the 
jib-boom of the Phcebe passed over the Essex's deck, and she lay, 
for a short time, with her bows exposed to the whole broadside of 
the American frigate, and her stern to that of the Essex Junior. 
Captain Porter declining to profit by this advantage, the Phoebe 
was enabled to get out of her awkward situation, there being no 
doubt that she had lain entirely at the mercy of her enemies. There 
can be little question that this extraordinary occuri'ence would have 
fully justified the American ship in having recourse to her means of 
defence.f 

* The regular armament of an English 36 would have been 26 long eighteens below, 
16 thirty-two-pound carronades and 2 chase guns above, or 44 gnns in all. It would 
seem that the Phoobe had added two eighteens, making 46. The regular armament of a 
32, was 06 long twelves below, 16 thirty-tvTO-pound carronades and 2 chase guns above. 
Some thirty-twos, however, mount but 40 guns, the difference in the rate depending 
moi-c on the metal than on the number of the guns. As a rule, the long twelve is thought 
to be the equivalent of a thirty-two-pound carronade, though there are circumstances in 
which each is preferable to the other. The Essex had in her, on this occasion, 40 thirty- 
twopouncl carronades, and 6 long twelves. Even with this change, the Phoebe was 
probably her superior, under the ordinary chances of naval warfare, in the proportion of 
about four to tliree. 

t From al! that passed, then and subsequently, the officers of the Essex appear to have 
been generally persuaded that Captain Hillyar had positive orders to capture the Amer- 
ican ship, without regard to the neutrality of the South American ports. 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 91 

The Enirlish ships, having obtained some supplies, went outside, 
and cruised oft' Valparaiso for six weeks. During this time, the 
Essex made several attempts to engage the Phoebe alone, sometimes 
by bringing her to action with the Essex Junior in company, and 
at others, by bringing her to action singly, having the crew of the 
Essex Junior on board the frigate. Captain Porter ascertained to 
his satisfaction, that he could easily outsail either of the enemy's 
vessels, but his object was not so much to escape, as to capture the 
Phoebe, which he had reason to think he might do, could he bring i 
her to close action, without her consort's interference. On the 27th 
of February, the Cherub being nearly a league dead to leeward of 
her, the Pha3be ran close in, hove to oft' the port, hoisted a motto flag, 
and fired a gun to windward, when the Essex immediately weighed 
and stood out of the harbour, and answered the weather gun of the 
enemy. On this occasion, the ships got within gun-shot of each other, 
and the American frigate opened her fire, when the Phoebe ran down 
and joined her consort. This conduct excited a good deal of feeling 
among the ofticers of the Essex, who rightly judged that the chal- 
lenge should not have been given, if it were not the intention of the 
enemy to engage singly. Taking all these circumstances in con- 
nexion, there can be little question that Captain Hillyar had been 
positively instructed not to fight the Essex alone, if he could possibly 
avoid it. As he bore the character of a good and brave officer, it is 
not easy to find any other reasonable solution of the course he pur- 
sued. His challenge oft' the port, was probably intended as a 7'7ise 
de guerre, -to get the Essex into his power ; for demonstrations of 
this nature are not subject to the severe laws which regulate more 
precise defiances to combat.* 

In the course of the expedients adopted by Captain Porter to obtain 
an advantage over his enemies, he went out one dark night, in his 
boats, in the hope of being able to board and carry the Cherub. Some 
accidental cause prevented the meeting, and no opportunity ofl'ered 
afterwards to renew the attempt. 

Having heard that several other cruisers of the enemy might soon 
be expected. Captain Porter now determined to go to sea, on the 
first good occasion, and by leading the Phoebe and Cherub oft' the 
coast, to allow the Essex Junior to follow. This plan was formed 
on the 27th of March, and the very next day the wind came on to 
blow fresh from the southward, when the Essex parted her larboard 
bower, and dragged the other anchor directly out to sea. The har- 
bour of Valparaiso opens to the northward, being formed by a head- 
land on its Avestern side, and a cove that makes to the southward 
within it; the main coast sweeping round to the north and east again, 

* In consoquence of this affair, some explanations passed between the ships, when the 
English officer alledi^ed that the gun to windward had been fired as a signal to the 
Cherub. This is quite possible, hut under the peculiar circumstances, little doubt exists 
that Captain Hillyaracted under precise instruclions not to engage the Essex singly. No 
stress ought to be laid on the different challenges that passed between the American 
and English ships, as they might all be satisfactorily explained, perhaps; but no inci- 
dent of the war so unanswerably shows the character obtained by the American navy, 
at this time, as the fact that a 36 declined meeting a 32, in single combat. Two years 
earlier, the Cherub would probably have sought an action with the Essex. 



92 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

affording the necessary protection. On the 28th of March, wlien the 
accident just mentioned occurred, the enemy's ships were at no great 
distance off the point, though far enough to allow the Essex to fetch 
past to windward of them, by hugging the land. The Point of 
Angels, however, is an exceedingly dangerous bluff to double, and 
most ships deem it prudent to reef before going round it, on account 
of the liability to sudden and violent squalls. 

As there uas no time to lose, sail was got on the Essex, when on 
opening the enemy. Captain Porter took in his topgallant-sails, 
hauled close by the wind, and made an attempt to pass out, by keep- 
ing his weatherly position. Every thing looked promising for a 
short time ; and there is little question that the ship would have gone 
clear, but, in doubling the headland, a squall carried away the main- 
topmast, throwing several men into the sea, all of whom were drown- 
ed. Nothing remained, of course, but to endeavour to regain the 
port, or to fight both the enemy's ships, under the additional disad- 
vantage of being already crippled. 

Finding it impossible to beat up to the common anchorage, in his 
present condition, in time to avoid the enemy. Captain Porter stood 
across the entrance of the harbour, to its northeastern side, where he 
let go an anchor, about three miles from the town, a mile and a half 
from the Castello Viego, which, however, was concealed by a bluff, 
half a mile from a detached battery of one twenty-four-pound gun, 
and within pistol-shot of the shore. Notwithstanding this position, 
the enemy continued to approach, and it soon became evident, by 
the motto flags and jacks he set, that it was his serious intention to 
engage. The Essex, in consequence, cleared for action, and 
attempted to get a spring on her cable, but had not succeeded in 
effecting this important object, when the Pha?be, having obtained an 
advantageous position, nearly astern, about 4 P. M. opened her fire, 
at long shot. At the same time, the Cherub commenced the action 
on the starboard bow. The fire of the Phoebe, from the double ad- 
vantage she possessed in her long guns and her station, became very 
destructive, as scarce a gun from the Essex could touch her. The 
Cherub, however, was soon driven ofl', when she ran down to leeward, 
and engaged from a position near that taken by the Phoebe. Three 
long twelves were got out aft, and they played with so much eflect on 
the enemy, that at the end of half an hour, both his ships hauled off 
the land to repair damages. This important fact, which is affirmed 
by the Americans, is sufficiently corroborated by the accounts of the 
enemy.* 

During this first attack, the Essex, through the great exertions of 
the master and boatswain, had succeeded in getting springs on the 
cable no less than three different times, but before the ship's broadside 
could be sprung to bear, they were as often shot away. The ship 
also received a great deal of injury, and several men had been killed, 
and wounded. Notwithstanding all the disastrous circumstances 
under wiiich thoy engaged, and the superior force opposed to them, 

* It is dne to the E nglish commajider to say, that he gave a very frauk and fair account 
of the actiou. 



1814.] . NAVAL HISTORY. 93 

the officers and crew of the Essex were animated by the best spirit, 
and it was not possible for efibrts to be more coolly made, or better 
directed. 

The enemy was not long- in making his repairs, and both ships 
next took a position on the starboard quarter of the Essex, where it 
was not in the power of the latter vessel to bring a single gun to bear 
upon him, as he was too distant to be reached by carronades. His 
fire was very galling, and it left no alternative to Captain Porter, be- 
tween submission, and running down to assail him. He gallantly 
decided on the latter. But, by this time, the Essex had received 
many serious injuries, in addition to the loss of her topmast. Her 
topsail sheets, topsail halyards, jib and foretopmast staysail halyards 
had all been shot away. The only sail that could be got upon the 
ship to make her head pay oft' was the flying jib, which was hoisted, 
when the cable was cut, and the vessel edged away, with the inten- 
tion of laying the Phoebe aboard. 

The fore-topsail and foresail were now let fall, though, for want 
of tacks and sheets, they were nearly useless. Still the Essex«drove 
down on her assailants, closing near enough to open with her car- 
ronades. For a few minutes, the firing on both sides was tremen- 
dous, the people of the Essex proving their discipline and gallantry, 
at that trying moment, in a way to justify all the high expectations 
that had been formed of them, though their decks were already 
strewed with killed, and the cockpit was crowded with the wounded. 
This work proved too hot for the Cherub, which hauled off" a second 
time, nor did she come near enough to use her carronades again, 
during the remainder of the action, keeping up a distant fire with 
her Ions: guns. 

The Pha3be discovered no disposition to throw away the immense 
advantage she possessed, in her long eighteens ; and when she found 
the Essex's fire becoming warm, she kept edging oft', throwing her 
shot at the same time with fatal eft'ect, cutting down the peojjle of 
her antagonist, almost with impunity to herself. By this time, many 
of the guns of the American ship were disabled, and the crews of 
several had been swept away. One particular gun was a scene of 
carnage that is seldom witnessed in a naval combat, nearly three 
entire crews falling at it in the course of the action. Its captain 
alone escaped with a slight wound. 

This scene of almost unresisting carnage bad now lasted almost 
two hours, and, finding it impossible to close with his adversary, who 
chose his distance at pleasure, Captain Porter felt the necessity of 
taking some prompt measure, if he would prevent the enemy from 
getting possession of his ship. The wind had got more to the west- 
ward, and he saw a hope of rutming her ashore, at a spot where he 
might land his people and set her on fire. For a few minutes every 
thing appeared to favour this design, and the Essex had drifted within 
niusket-shot of the beach, when the wind suddenly shifted from the 
land, paying the ship's head broad oft', in a way to leave her exposed 
to a dreadful rakins" fire. Still, as she was again closing with the 
Phcebe, Captain Porter indulged a hope of finally laying that ship 

VOL. II. 6 



94 NAVAL HISTORY. . [1814. 

aboard. At this moment, Lieutenant Commandant Downes came 
alonofside of tlie Essex, in order to receive the orders of his com- 
manding officer, havinnf pulled through all the fire in order to effect 
this object. He could be of no use, for the enemy again put his helm 
up, and kept away, when Mr. Downes, after remaining in the Essex 
ten minutes, was directed to return to his own ship, and to make 
preparations to defend, or, at need to destroy her. On going away, 
he carried off several of the Essex's wounded, leaving three of his 
own men behind him, in order to make room in the boat. 

The slaughter in the Essex having got to be too horrible, the enemy 
firing with deliberation, and hulling her at almost every shot. Cap- 
tain Porter, as a last resort, ordered a hawser to be bent to the sheet 
anchor, and the latter let go, in order to bring the head of the ship 
round. This effected the object, and once more the Americans got 
their broadside to bear, remaining stationary themselves, while their 
enemy, a good deal crippled, was drifting slowly to leeward. Even 
in these desperate circumstances, a ray of hope gleamed through this 
little advantage, and Captain Porter was beginning to believe that 
the Phcebe would drift out of gun-shot, before she discovered his ex- 
pedient, when the hawser parted with the strain. 

There was no longer any chance of saving the ship. To add to 
her distress, she was on fire, the llames cominjr up both the main 
and forward hatchways ; and for a few minutes it was thought she 
must consume. An explosion of powder also occurred below, to 
add to the horrors of the scene, and Captain Porter told his people, 
that in preference to being blown up, all who chose to incur the risk, 
might make the attempt to reach the shore by swimming, IMaiiy 
availed themselves of the permission, and some succeeded in effect- 
ing their escape. Others perished, while a fcAV, after drifting about 
on bits of spars, were picked up by the boats of the enemy. Much 
the greater part of the crew, however, remained in the ship, and they 
set about an attempt to extinguish the flames ; the shot of the enemy 
committing its havoc the whole time. Fortunately, the fire was got 
under, when the few brave men who were left, went again to the 
lonj): guns. 

The moment had now arrived, when Captain Porter was to decide 
between submission or the distruction of the remainder of his people. 
In the midst of this scene of slaughter, he had himself been untoncli- 
ed, and it would seem that he felt himself called on to resist as long 
as his own strength allowed. Iiut his remaining people entreated 
him to remember his wounded, and he at last consented to summon 
his ofiScers. Only one. Acting Lieutenant M'Knight, could join 
him on the quarter-deck ! The first lieutenant, Mr. Wilmer, had 
been knocked overboard by a splinter, and drowned, while getting 
the sheet anchor from th>e bows ; Acting Lieutenant Cowell, the 
next in- rank, was mortally woundeo ; Acting Lieutenant Odenhei- 
mer had just been knocked overboard from the quarter, and did not 
regain the vessel for several minutes. The reports of the state of the 
ship were fearful. A large portion of the guns were disabled, even 
had there been men left to fight them. The berth-deck, steerage, 



1814.] ' NAVAL HISTORY. 95 

ward-room, and cockpit, were full of wounded ; and the latter were 
even killed by shot while under the surgeon's hands. The carpen- 
ter was sent for, and he stated that of his crew, he alone could per- 
form any duty. He had been over the side to stop shot-holes, when 
his slings were cut away, and he narrowly escaped drowning. In 
short, seventy-five men, officers included, were all that remained for 
duty ; and the enemy, in perfectly smootii water, was firing his long 
eighteens, at a nearly unresisting ship, with as much precision as he 
could have discharged them at a target. It had become an impera- 
tive duty to strike, and the colours were accordingly hauled down, 
after one of the most remarkable combats that is to be found in the 
history of naval warfare. 

In this bloody contest, the Essex had 58 men killed, including 
those who soon died of their hurts, and 66 wounded, making a total 
of 124, or nearly half of all who were on board at the commence- 
ment of the action. Of the missing there were 31, most of whom 
were probably drowned, either in attempting to swim ashore, when 
the ship was on fire, or by being knocked overboard by the splinters, 
or pieces of the rigging. Including the missing, the entire loss was 
152, out of 255. 

The Essex, with a very trifling exception while closing, fought this 
battle with her six long twelves, opposed by fifteen long eighteens in 
broadside,* the long guns of the Cherub, and, a good deal of the 
time, or while they lay on her quarter, by the carronades of both the 
enemy's ships. Captain Hillyar's published official letter makes the 
loss of the Phoebe 4 killed and 7 wounded ; that of the Cherub, 1 
killed, and 3 wounded. There is no apparent reason for distrusting 
this account, as Captain Hillyar's official letter was singularly 
modest and just. Captain Tucker, of the Cherub was wounded, and 
the first lieutenant of the Phoebe was killed. The English ships 
were cut up more than could have been expected under the circum- 
stances, the latter having received no less than eighteen twelve-pound 
shot belcv the water-line. It would seem that the smoothness of the 
water rendered the fire very certain, on both sides, and it is only to 
be regretted that the Essex could not have engaged under her three 
topsails, from the commencement. The engagement lasted nearly 
two hours and a half, the long guns of the Essex, it is said, having 
been fired no less than seventy-five times, each, in broadside. The 
enemy must have thrown, agreeably to the statements made at the 
time, not less than 700 eighteen-pound shot, at the Essex. 

The battle was witnessed by thousands from the shore ; and so 
near were all the ships to the land, that, at one time, many of the 
Phogbe's eighteen-pound shot struck the beach. This fact appears 
to be well authenticated, and, of itself, it settles the question of a 
violation of the neutrality of Chili ; since even they who maintain 
the doctrine that jurisdiction does not properly extend three leagues 
to sea, substitute the greatest range of a shot, or a shell, in their 

*It has been said that the Phosbe mounted but 26 long eighteens, her upper deck long 
guns having been twelves. We have followed Captain Porter's account, though the 
diftero.ice, under the peculiar circumstances, was of no gi'cat moment. 



96 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 



place. During the action, Mr. Poinsett, the American consul, 
repaired to the governor's and asked the protection of the batteries in 
behalf of the Essex. He received the evasive answer, that, should 
the ship succeed in reaching the ordinary anchorage, an officer would 
be sent to the British commander, requesting him to cease his fire. 
The governor, however, declined resorting to force, under any cir- 
cumstances. This conduct left no doubt of a collusion between the 
English officers and the local authorities, and Mr. Poinsett took the 
first occasion to quit the country. 

In the mode in which he fought his ship, though it was much crit- 
icised at the time, Captain Hillyar discovered seamanship and a strict 
attention to his duty ; but his situation must have been in the last 
degree painful, while compelled to avoid meeting the Essex singly, 
under circumstances that admit of no other plausible construction 
than an obedience to the most rigid orders. 

Captain Porter now entered into an arrangement with Captain 
Hillyar, under the provisions of which, the Essex Junior was con- 
verted into a cartel, and a passport was given, by means of which all 
the survivors of the Essex came home. From this arrangement, 
however. Acting Lieutenant M'Kniglit, Mr. Adams, the chaplain, 
and Mr. Lyman, a master's mate, were exempted ; these three gen- 
tlemen and eleven seamen, being exchanjred ou the spot, for a part 
of the people of the Sir Andrew Hammond, who were then prisoners 
in the Essex Junior. Mr. M'Knight and Mr. Lyman went round 
to Rio dc .Janeiro, in the Phrebe, in order to give some testimony in 
behalf of the captors. We shall have occasion to advert to the two 
last mentioned gentlemen hereafter. 

The Essex Junior left Valparaiso shortly after this arrangement, 
encountering no difficulty in doubling the Horn. She was brough 
to, olY New York, by the Saturn ras6e. Captain Nash. This officer, 
at first, questioned the authority of Captain Hillyar to grant the 
passport, under which the Essex Junior was sailing, and he directed 
that ship to lie* by him during the night. After some communica- 
tions, the next morning, when thirty miles from the beach. Captain 
Porter put off in a whale-boat, and, though chased, by pulling vigor- 
ously for the land, he got ashore on Long Island, escaping in a fog 
It does not appear, however, to have been the intention of Captain 
Nash seriously to detain the Essex Junior. He probably distrusted 
some artifice, as he permitted the ship to proceed, after again exam- 
ining her papers. 

Thus terminated this enterprising and singular cruise, its end 
proving as disastrous as its commencement had been fortunate, 
though it was, at all times, highly creditable to the spirit, resources, 
self-reliance, and zeal of those engaged in it. Before quitting the 
subject, however, it remains to give a brief account of the fortunes 
of the officers and men left at Nooaheevah, with the three prizes, the 
Greenwich, the Sir Andrew Hammond, and the Seringapatam, un- 
der tli(i orders of LieTiten.ant Gamble of the marines. 

The Essex had no sooner disappeared than the savages began to 
pilfer, and to betray a turbulent disposition. Mr. Gamble was com- 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 97 

pellet! to land a party, and to bring the natives to terms by a show of 
force. Fortunately this object was effected without firing- a musket. 
In February, one of the small party left was drowned, reducing their 
number to twenty-two, the officers included. Not long after this event, 
four of the men deserted in a whale-boat, carrying oti' with them sev- 
eral small articles of value. But eighteen now remained. 

On the 12th of April, Mr. Gamble began to rig the .Seringapatam 
and the Sir Andrew Hammond, with the intention of (piitting the 
islands, the long absence of the Essex inducing him to despair of 
her retsH'n. Some symptoms of a mutiny now began to show them 
selves, and he had all the arms and ammunition brought on board 
the Greenwich, in which vessel he lived; but having occasion to be 
onboard the Seringapatam, on the 7th of May, a party of six men 
rose, and took the ship from him. During the time Mr. Gamble was 
in the hands of these wen, he was badly wounded in the foot by a 
pistol-ball, and they succeeded in carrying oft' the Seringapatam, 
sending the officer, and the people with him, on board another vessel. 

Every exertion was made to get to sea with the Sir Andrew Ham- 
mond, but on the 0th, the natives made an attack, and Mr. Feltus, 
with three men, was killed, and one other was severely wounded. 
The situation of those that remained, now became exceedingly crit- 
ical, the whole party consisting of only eight ijidividuals, of whom 
two were badly wounded, one was crippled, and another was just 
recovering from a serious attack of the scurvy. In fact, there were 
but four men on board the Sir Andrew Hammond fit for duty. The 
jib and spanker were bent as fast as possible, the moorings were cut, 
and, under that short sail, the ship passed slowly out to sea, under 
cover of the night. When safe iii the offing, but six cartridges were 
left, the Seringapatam having carried oft' most of the ammunition 
in kegs. 

To add to the difficulties of his situation, Mr. Gamble had no chart. 
He made out to reach the Sandwich Islands, however, in seventeen 
days, where he was captured by the Cherub, and first learned the 
fate of the Essex. The«Americans continued seven months in this 
ship, until they were landed at Rio de Janeiro, from which port Mr. 
Gamble got to Nev/ York, late in Auoust, 1815. 

Having closed the history of the three ships that sailed under the 
orders of Commodore Bainbridge, it becomes necessary to return to 
the commencement of the year 1812, deferring, however, an account 
oftl'.e proceedings on the lakes, to another portion of the work, in 
order to preserve the connexion that is necessary to clearness and 
interest. 



98 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 



CHAPTER X. 

Imperfect condition ofcertain ships of the navy — Equipment of the Constellation — she is 
blockaded by a British Heetat Hampton Roads — Skilful preparations for her defence, 
by Capt. Stewart — Compliment paid himby the British officers— He is transferred to 
the Constitution — Cruise of the Chesapeake, Capt. Evans — she captures four raer- 
ohantnien — Change in the policy of the enemy with regard to the eastern states — 
Coiiiemplated cruise of the Chesapeake, Capt. Lawrence — Disaffection among her 

crew Her action with and capture by the British ship Shannon — Death of Capt. 

Lawrence — Sketch of his life. 

TiiK effect of the successes of tlie navy on the public mind, lias 
been ah-eady sliown. The nation was well disposed to contribute 
freelv to the enlargement of this branch of the general service ; and, 
encourao-ed by this feeling, the administration had so far extended its ' 
policy as to recommend the construction of four ships of tlie line. 
Although few of the more important political objects of a war can be 
looked for without vessels of force, it may be tpiestioned if, under the 
particular circumstances of the cosmtry, the building of heavy ships, 
at that precise moment, was the wisest i)olicy that could be adopted. 
The public finances were hardly in a state to meet the sudden and 
heavy demands that a fleet of any force would make, and to put to 
sea a few solitary two-deckers, out of distant ports, to cruise without 
concert, would have been to betray a great want of the ability to com- 
bine, as well as a singular feebleness of purpose. The first object to 
be obtained by vessels of force would be to prevent blockades, and to 
render descents on the coast too hazardous to be attempted. Failing 
in the means to effect these important ends, or at least to render an 
attempt to thwart them too pi-ecarious in the eyes of the enemy, a 
discreet view pf the interests of the country would seem to point out 
the expediency of adopting a different species of force, in order to 
insure the next most practicable benefit that circumstances allowed. 
When.fi community neglects the golden opportunity for achieving 
any important meastire,1ike'ftn»indi*?crual^si»nilarjy situated, it must 
be content to do all it can, and to abandon the design of doing what 
it desires. Such, virtually, was the condition of America at that 
moment; and, while the governing^ necessity of possessing vessels 
of force, ought never to be lost sight of, among a maritime people, it 
may well be doubted whether the money expended in constructing- 
two or three large ships, during the years 1813 and 1814, might not 
have been more discreetly used in fitting out fifteen or twenty fast- 
sailing light cruisers; vessels that might have been built and equipped 
in a few weeks, and which would be almost certain of gettingto sea.* 

It has been seen, that the declaration of war found the naval prep- 
arations in so imperfect a condition, that the Constellation 38, Ches- 

* It is worthy of remark that, while three of the eight efficient frigates the United States 
owned soon after the commencement of the war (including one captured from the ene- 
my,) were blockaded, no sloop of war was prevented from getting to sea. The first 
great object of the government should bo to prevent blockades altogether ; its next, to 
employ vessels that cannot be blockaded. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 99 

apeake 38, and Adams *28, were not ready even to receive crews, 
while it was found necessary to rebuild entirely the New York 3G, 
Boston 28, and General Greene 28, The appropriations for the 
repairs of the three first ships liavinj^ been made in March, IS 12, the 
Constellation was equipped and manned at Washington, in the 
course of the season. When Commodore Bainbridge left lier for the 
Constitution, the command of this ship had been given to Captain 
Stewart, the officer who had served as second in command under 
Commodore Preble, duriiig most of the operations of that celebrated 
captain, before Tripoli. In the course of the month of January, 
1813, Captain Stewart dropped down the river with an intention to 
get to sea, but on reaching St. Mary's, an order was received, that 
induced him to go to Annapolis, in order to examine his powder. 
From this place, the ship v.as directed to proceed to Norfolk. In 
• executing this order, the Constellation ancliored in Hampton Roads, 
and the next morning a fleet of the enemy, consisting of several two- 
decked ships, frigates and sloops of war, came in and ancliored off 
Willoughby's Point, where they were becalmed. While the English 
ships were waiting for the turn of the tide, the Constellation was 
kedged up until she grounded on the flats above, and the same night, 
when the tide floated her, she was carried up, and anchored between 
the forts at Norfolk. 

// A few days later, the Constellation dropped down abreast of 
Crauey Island, with a view to cover the fortifications then erecting 

» at that place. At this tune, the enemy was still lying in forcf^ at 
Hampton Roads. The ship was much exposed, it being at all times 
practicable for the enemy to i^ttempt carrying her by surprise, and 
Captain Stewart felt the necessity of using great precautions for her 
protection. As the manner in which the frigate was prepared for 
defence, on this occasion, was highly appreciated for its skilful and 
seamanlike dispositions, it is thought worthy of being particularly 
mentioned. 

The Constellation was anchored in the middle of the channel, 
which is quite narrow, and on each side of her were moored seven 
gun-boats, on board of which were placed officers and men belonging 
to the ship. A circle of booms, securely fastened, protected the gun- 
boats from being boarded, which would enable them to maintain a 
flanking fire, on all assailants of the frigate. The gun-deck guns 
of the latter were housed, and the ports were shut in. Great care 
was taken that no rope should be permitted to be hanging over the 
side of the vessel, the stern ladders were taken away, and even the 
gangway-cleets were removed. Boarding nettings were made of 
twenty -one thread ratlin-stufl',that had been boiled in half-made pitch, 
which rendered it so hard as almost to defy the knife. To give 
greater strength, nail rods and small chains were secured to the net- 
ting in lines about three feet apart. Instead of tricing to the rigging, 
this netting was spread out-board, towards the yard-arms, rising 
about twenty-five feet above the deck. To the outer rope or ridge- 
line of the netting, were secured pieces of kentledge, that by cutting 



100 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

the tricing lines when the enemy should get alongside, his boats and 
men might be caught beneath. Pieces of kentledge were also sus- 
pended forward, from the spritsail-yard, bowsprit, &c. &.c., to prevent 
boats from lying under them, while the netting was here hoisted to 
the fore stay. The carronadcs were charged to the muzzles with \ 
musket-balls, and depressed to the nearest range, in order to sweep 
around the ship. As the frigate was light, and unusually high out 
of water, it was the opinion of the best judges, that defended as she 
would certainly have been, under the officers who were in her, she 
could not have been carried without a loss of several hundred men to 
the enemy, if she could have been carried by boats at all. 

It would appear, notwithstanding, that the enemy was disposed to 
make the attempt. A large force of British ships having collected 
in the Roads, the admirals in command seriously contemplated an 
assault on the Constellation. Fortunately, Captain Stewart received 
notice of their intentions. A Portuguese had been stopped by the 
fleet, on his way to sea, and his ship was anchored at the upper part 
of the Roads, just out of gun-shot of the frigate. On board this 
vessel, the admiral kept a guard and a look-out, to signal the move- 
ments above. An American passenger, on board the Portuguese, 
learned from the conversation of different officers, their designs on 
the Constellation, and he found means to get on board the frigate in 
order to apprise her commander of the enemy's plan, handsomely 
volunteering to remain in the ship to help defend her.* Of course 
the guard-boats were enjoined to be more than usually vigilant, and « 
every thing was got ready to receive the enemy. 

The night succeeding the notice was starlight, and nothing was 
attempted. The next morning, the master of the Portuguese stopped 
alongside of the frigate, on his way to Norfolk, and stated that a large 
number of boats had collected at his ship the previous evening, but 
that the expedition had been deferred until that night, which promised 
to be dark and drizzling. Accordingly the guard-boat was on the 
look-out, and it fell in with a division of boats, that was supposed to 
contain from 1500 to 2000 men. As soon as the enemy was seen, 
the officer in the boat showed two lanterns on the off-side of his cutter, 
and all hands were called in the ship. It would seem the enemy 
ascertained that his approach was discovered, and he retired. 

The following night, the attempt was renewed, with the same want 
of success. A few nights later, it again proved dark and drizzling, 
and a third expedition came up. On this occasion, Mr. B. J. Neale, 
the second lieutenant of the Constellation, was in the guard-boat, 
and he edged close in with the enemy, who discovered him. As soon 
as the word of " a stranger," was given, the people of the cutter 
sprang to their oars, and pulled out of sight, but finding he was not 
pursued, Mr. Neale returned and kept company Avith the brigade of 
boats, which passed up on the inside of the flats, above the mouth 
of Tanner's creek, and anchored at no great distance below the 

* The name of tlie gentleman desen'es to be honourably mentioned. It was Mr. 
Francis March, of t))e mercantile firm of J. Howard March & Co., of Madeira. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 101 

forts.* Here many of the officers landed, and walked about to keep 
themselves warm, the guard-boat anchoring also. When the ebb 
tide made, the brigade returned, the Constellation's boat quitting 
them only when they had got below the frigate. 

Shortly after, the fortifications being sufficiently advanced, and 
block ships being ready for sinking in the channel, the Constellation 
was carried up again to a place of security. About this time Cap- 
tain Stewart was transferred to the command of the Constitution 44, 
and Captain Tarbell received a temporary appointment to the Con- 
stellation, though, the enemy always maintaining a strong force in 
the waters of the Chesapeake, the ship continued to be blockaded 
until the peace. 

The Chesapeake, lying at Boston, had less difficulty in getting to 
sea, for the enemy did not keep any force before that port, during 
the first few months of the war; most probably under the false im- 
pression that such was the disaflection of the eastern states, that it 
would virtually be annoying friends. She sailed at the close of 
February, 1813, under the orders of Captain Evans, and passing by 
the Canary Isles, and the Cape de Verdes, she crossed the equator, 
and remained for six weeks near the line. She then made the coast 
of South America, passed the spot where the Hornet sunk the Pea- 
cock, the day after that action had occurred, and went through the 
West Indies, and along the American coast, to the port from which 
she had sailed. During this long run. Captain Evans saw but three 
men-of-war, a ship of the line and a frigate, near the Western 
Islands, and a sloop of vvar, off the Capes of Virginia. The latter 
escaped in the night, after a chase of two days. The Chesapeake 
captured four mei'chant vessels. 

This cruise, during which the frigate had been taken, without suc- 
cess, over a part of the ocean much frequented by British cruisers, 
went far towards confirming that character of being an unlucky ship, 
which the Chesapeake had always possessed, and neither officers 
nor sailors were fond of serving in her; for, whatever reason may 
teach men on such subjects, facts and superstition are usually found 
to furnish more arguments than logic and common sense.t In en- 
tering the harbour, the Chesapeake lost a top-mast, and several men, 
who were aloft at the time, were drowned. Captain Evans gave up 

* As Mr. Neale pulled off, lie fired a masket at tlie enemy, and it is said theball passed 
througli the jacket of an officer of high rank. This gentleman kept so close to the enemy 
that he overheard their conversation, which was repeated to them, by the next flag that 
went down. The English officers confessed that the vigilance of the ship was loo much 
for ihem, insisting that Captain Stewart must be a Scotchman, he was so actively awake. 
" If the Constellation were aFrenchman, we should have had her long ago," observed an 
officer of very high rank, on that occasion. This might have been so, or not, for the French 
nnderstand defending a ship at anchor, as well as most nations. 

t In the navy, at this particular juncture, the Constitution, Constellation and Enterprise 
■were the lucky vessels of the service, and the Chesapeake and President the unlucky. 
The different vessels named, went into the war of 1812 with these characters, and they 
were singularly confirmed by circumstances. Even the fact that the Constellation re- 
mained blockaded throughout the war, scarcely impaired her character, for it was re- 
marked lliat the enemy could never get hold of her, and, usually, her officers and men 
when brought into action, as occured in several instances, in boats and batteries, were 
successful. 



102 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

the command of his ship on his return, on account of his health,* 
and was succeeded by Captain James Lawrence. 

By this time, the enemy had clianged his pohcy as regards the 
eastern states, and he kept a i'ew frigates in the vicinity of Massa- 
chusetts Bay, with a view to intercept the American ships of war 
that passed in and out. Two of these cruisers, the Shannon 38, 
and Tenedos 38, had been ofl' Boston, it was said, in waiting for the 
President 44, and Congress 38, to come out, but these ships liad 
sailed without encountering them, and it was by no means probable 
that the English seriously wished a meeting. When it was under- 
stood, however, that the Chesapeake was ready to sail, the Shannon, 
Captain Broke, appeared alone in the offing, and as the ships were 
very fairly matched, a combat appeared much more probable. It is 
now known, that Captain Broke, that very day, sent in an invitation 
to Captain Lawrence, to meet him in any latitude and longitude that 
might be agreed on. Unfortunately, this letter was not written until 
about the moment the Chesapeake was getting under way, and the 
advantage of having officers and men accustomed to act a little to- 
gether, was lost. The Chesapeake's contemplated cruise was to the 
northward and eastward, with a view to intercept the store-ships and 
troo]i-sbips that were steering for the St. Lawrence. The Hornet 
18, Captain Biddle, had been put under the orders of Captain Law- 
rence, and it was intended that the two ships should cruise in com- 
pany.f The Greenland whale-fishery, however, was the ultimate 
object of these vessels. 

Li the forenoon of June 1st, 1813, the Shannon appeared in the 
bay. The Chesapeake was then lying in President Roads, ready for 
sea; though some disaffijction existed among the crew, on account 
of the prize-money of the last cruise, which was still unpaid. The 
ship had an unusual number of mercenaries in her; and among 
others, was a boatswain's mate, a Portuguese, who was found to be 
particularly troublesome. Under the extraordinary circumstances 
in which the vessel was placed, it was thought prudent to temporise, 
and the people were addressed, and some promises were made to 
them which apparently had the effiict of putting them in a better 
humour. 

* Captain Evans had losl die sight of one of his cj-es, and that of the other was in great 
danger. 

t In the following letter, the reader will discover the relnctance with which Lawrence 
sailed in the Chesapeake, besides getting a better idea of the contemplated cruise. It 
will be seen that the latter resembled the cruise of Paul .Tones and of the elder'Biddle, 
in the war of the Revolution. In this letter, however, Captain Lawrence docs not go 
beyond the expected place of meeting of the two ships. 

"Boston, Maj- 27th, 1813. 
"Dear Sir: 

"In hopes of being relieved by Captain Stewart, I neglected writing agreeably to 
promise, but as I have given over all hopes of seeing him, and the Chesapeake is almost 
ready, I shall sail on Sunday, provided I have a chance of getting out clear of the Shan- 
non and Tenedos, who arc on the look-out. My intention is to pass out by Cape Sable, 
then run out west (east.) until I gel into the stream, then haul in for Cape Canso, and 
run for Cape Breton, where I expect the pleasure of seeing you; I think your best 
chance of getting out is through the Sound. 

" In haste, yours sincerely, 

"Captain Biddle."' "J. Lawrence. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 103 

At 12, meridian, the Che.sapeake lifted Iier anchor, and stood out, 
with a pleasant breeze from the southward and westward. As the 
Shannon was then in plain siglit, the shij) was cleared for action, and 
the best appearances were assumed, although it is known that Cap- 
tain Lawrence went into this engagement with strong- reluctance, on 
account of the peculiar state of his crew. He had himself joined the 
vessel only a few days before ; her proper first lieutenant, Mr. O. A. 
Page, of Virginia, an officer of experience, was ill on shore, and died 
soon after, in Boston ; the acting first lieutenant, Mr. Augustus Lud- 
low, of New York, though an officer of merit, Avas a very young man, 
and was in an entirely novel situation, and there was but one other 
commissioned sea-officer in the ship, two of the midshipmen acting 
as third and fourth lieutenants, and now performing this duty for the 
first time. One, if not both of these youna: gentlemen, had also just 
joined the ship, following the captain from the Hornet. In addition, 
the Chesapeake had an unusual number of landsmen in her. 

The Shannon stood off" under easy sail, when Captain Lawrence 
fired a gun, about half past 4, which induced her to heave to, with 
her head to the southward and eastward. Bv this time the wind had 
freshened, and at 5, the Chesapeake took in her royals and topgal- 
lant-sails, and half an -hour later, she hauled up her courses. The 
two ships were now about 30 miles from the light, the Shannon under 
single-reefed topsails and jib, and the Chesapeake under her whole 
topsails and jib, coming down flist. As the Shannon was running 
with the wind a little free, there was an anxious moment on board 
of her, during which it was uncertain on which side the Chesapeake 
was about to close, or whether she might not be disposed to com- 
mence the action on her quarter. But Captain Lawrence. chose to 
lay his enemy fairly alongside, yard-arm and yard-arm, and he 
luffed, and ranged up abeam, on the Shannon's starboard side. 
When the Chesapeake's foremast was in a line with the Shannon's 
mizen-mast, the latter ship discharged her cabin guns, and the others 
in succession, from aft forward. The Chesapeake did not fire until 
all her guns bore, when she delivered a very destructive broadside. 
For six or eight minutes the cannonading was fierce, and the best 
of the action, so far as the general effect of the fire was concerned, 
is said to have been with the American frigate, though it was much 
in favour of the enemy, in its particular and accidental consequences. 
While passing the Shannon's broadside, the Chesapeake had her 
fore-topsail tie and jib sheet shot away. Her spanker-brails also 
were loosened, and the sail blew out. These accidents occurring 
nearly at the same instant, they brought the ship up into the wind, 
when, taken aback, she got sternway, and fell aboard of the enemy, 
with her mizen-rigging foul of the Shannon's fore-chains. By some 
accounts, the fluke of an anchor on board the Shannon hooked in 
the rigging of the Chesapeake. Whatever may have served to keep 
the ships together, it appears to be certain, that the American frigate 
lay exposed to a raking fire from the enemy, who poured into her the 
contents of one or two carronades, that nearly swept her upper deck. 
At the few first discharges of the Shannon, Captain Lawrence had 



104 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

received a wound in tlie leg; Mr. Broom, the marine officer, Mr. 
Ballard, the acting fourth lieutenant, and the boatswain, were mortally 
wounded; Mr. White, the master, was killed, and Mr. Ludlow, the 
first lieutenant, was twice wounded by grape and musketry. Such 
was the state of the upper deck, as the accident mentioned, brought 
the vessels in contact. When Captain Lawrence perceived that the 
ships were likely to fall foul of each other, he directed the boarders 
to be called, but unfortunately, a bugleman had been substituted for 
the drummer, and this man, a negro, was so much alarmed at the 
efl'ects of the conflict, that he had concealed himself under the stern 
of the launch ; when found, he was completely paralysed by fear, 
and was totally unable to sound a note. Verbal orders were conse- 
quently sent below, by the captain's aids, for the boarders to come 
on deck. At this critical moment Captain Lawrence fell with a ball 
through the body. 

The upper deck was now left without an officer above the rank 
of a midshipman. It was the practice of the service, in that day, to 
keep the arms of the boarders on the quarter-deck, and about the 
masts; and even when the boarders had been summoned in the slow 
and imperfect manner that, in the confusion of a combat, was allowed 
by the voice, they were without arms ; for, by this time, the enemy 
was in possession of <;he Chesapeake's quarter-deck. 

As soon as the ships were foul. Captain Broke passed forward in 
the Shannon, and, to use his own language, " seeing that the enemy 
were flinching from his guns," he g-ave the order to board. Finding 
that all their officers had fallen, and exposed to a raking fire, with- 
out the means of returning a shot, the men on the Chesapeake's 
quarter-deck had indeed left their guns. The marines had sufiered 
severely, and having lost their officer, were undecided what to do, and 
the entire upper deck was left virtually without any defence. 

When the enemy entered the ship, from his fore-channels it was 
with great caution, and so slowly, that twenty resolute men would 
have repulsed him. The boarders had not yet appeared from below, 
and meeting with no resistance, he began to move forward. This 
critical moment lost the ship, for the English, encouraged by the 
state of the Chesapeake's upper deck, now rushed forward in num- 
bers, and soon had entire command above board. The remaining 
officers appeared on deck, and endeavoured to make a rally, but it 
was altogether too late, for the boatswain's mate mentioned, had re- 
moved the gratings of the berth-deck, and had run below, followed 
by a great many men.* Soon after, the Chesapeake's colours were 
hauled down by the enemy, who got complete possession of the ship, 
with very little resistance. 

Captain Broke, in his official report of this action, observes that 
after he had boarded, "the enemy fought desperately, but in disorder." 
The first part of this statement is probably true, as regards a few gal- 
lant individuals on the upper deck, but there was no regular resis- 
tance to the boarders of the Shannon at all. The people of the 

' As this man performed this act of treachery, he is said to have cried out, " so much 
for not having paid men their prize-money." 



1813.] 



NAVAL HISTORY. 



105 



Chesapeake had not the means to resist, neither were they collected, 
nor commanded in the mode in which they had been trained to act. 
The enemy fired down the hatches, and killed and wounded a great 
many men, in this manner, but it does not appear that their fire was 
returned. Although the English lost a few men when they boarded, 
it is understood that the slaughter was principally on the side of the 
Americans, as might be expected, after the assault was made.* 

Few naval battles have been more sanguinary than this. It lasted 
altogether not more than 15 minutes, and yet both ships were charnel 
houses. The Chesapeake had 48 men killed, and 98 wounded, a 
large portion of whom fell by the raking fire of the Shannon, after 
the Chesapeake was taken aback, and by the fire of the boarders. 
The Shannon had 23 killed and 56 wounded, principally by tlie 
Chesapeake's broadsides. It was impossible for ships of that size to 
approach so near, in tolerably smooth watei*, and to fire with so 
much steadiness, without committing great havoc. On board the 
Chesapeake fell, or died of their wounds shortly after the combat. 
Captain Lawrence, Lieutenants Ludlow, Ballard, and Broom, (of the 
marines,) Mr. White, the master, Mr. Adams, the boatswain, and 
three midshipmen. All but the midshipmen, fell before the enemy 
boarded. Mr. Budd second, and Mr. Cox, third lieutenant, were 
wounded after the enemy had got on the Chesapeake's decks. Sev- 
eral midshipmen were also wounded. The Shannon lost her first 
lieutenant, and one or two inferior officers, and Captain Broke was 
badly wounded ; the boatswain lost an arm, and one midshipman 
was wounded, mostly after the boarding. 

As soon as the ships were clear of each other, they both made sail 
for Halifax, where they soon after arrived. Captain Lawrence died 
of his wounds on the 6th of June, and with Mr. Ludlow, was buried 
by the enemy with military honours.t 

* The fact that the English met with no resistance in coming on board the Chesapeake, 
is fully confirmed by the official account of Captain Broke. This officer, who appears to 
have behaved with great personal gallantry, was among the first to hoard, and he says, 
" having received a sabi'e wound, nt the frst onset, while charging a part of the enemy, 
who had rallied on their forecastle," &c. &c. The enemy came in astern, and the frst 
onset occurring on the forecastle, it follows that there was no resistance aft. 

t James Lawrence was born at Burlington, Ne^v Jersey, October 1st, 1781. His 
father was a respectable lawyer, and it was first intended to educate the son to the same 
profession, but preferring the sea, he received a midshipman's warrant on the 4th of 
September, 1798. His first service was in the Ganges 24, Captain Tingey. So much 
aptitude did he show for the profession, that Mr. Lawrence was made an acting lieu- 
tenant, by his commander, within two years after ho went to sea, though he did not 
receive a commission until 1803. He was first lieutenant in the Enterprise from 18U2 to 
1804, and disiinguishedhimself in the attack on the feluccas at old Tripoli, in Maj-, 1802, 
under Mr. Porier. In February, 1804, he accompanied his commander, Lii;ulcnant 
Commandant Decatur, and the Enterprise's ship-company in the attack on the Phila- 
delphia, on which occasion he was second in command, among the party that went in. 
In ISC') be crossed the ocean twice in a gun-boat, and in 1808 he was made first lieu- 
tenant of the Constitution. 

Mr. Lawrence enjoyed a high reputation in the service, for in addition to his profes- 
sional attachments, as Decatur had expressed himself of his character, there was " no 
more doii?e about him than about the mainmast." In 1809 he got command of the Vixen 
14, and shortly after of the Wasp 18. Being still a lieutenant, this last command he was 
compelled to relinquish to Captain Jones, exchanging his ship for the Argus 16. In 1811 
he was promoted, when he got the Hornet 18. In this vessel he was serving at the 
commencement of the war, and in her lie cajitured the Peacock 18. His next command 



106 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

Perhaps tlie capture of no single ship ever produced so much ex- 
ultation on the side of the victors, or so much depression on that of 
tlie heaten party, as that of the Cliesapeake. The American nation 
had fallen into the error of their enemy, and had began to imagine 
themselves invincible on the ocean, and this without any better rea- 
son than having been successful in a few detached combats, and its 
mortification was in proportion to the magnitude of its delusion ; 
while England hailed the success of the Shannon as a proof that its 
ancient renown was about to be regained. It has always been a 
prevalent illusion among the people of Great Britain to believe them- 
selves superior to most other nations in pure personal prowess, and 
the Chesapeake having been taken by boarding, this peculiar dispo- 
sition was flattered with the impression that they had prevailed in a 
hand to hand conflict, and that their seamen had only to go on board 
the American ships in future, in order to be triumphant. This error, 
in the end, lost them several vessels, for a more hazardous experi- 
ment cannot well be made, than to attempt carrying a ship of any 
force by boarding, before she has been virtually beaten with the 
guns. It is scarcely exceeding the truth to say that such a circum- 
stance never occnrred. In the ancient navies of Europe, in which 
men obtained commissions on account of their birth, and captains 
liavc been often known to allow their inferiors to give orders in the 
lieat of a combat, any thing may happen, for a ship without a com- 
mander is like a man without a soul ; but no experienced seaman 
will ever expose his people nnnecessarily in this manner, against an 
enemy that he feels to be prepared to receive him. 

In America reflection soon caused the mortification in a great 
measure to subside, as it was seen that the capture of the Chesapeake, 
was owing to a concurrence of circumstances that was not likely 

was tlie Cliesapeake 38, after he was made a captain, in which ship he fell, dying of his 
wounds Juno 6th, 1813, in the 32d year of his age. 

Captain Lawrence married a lady of New York, in 1809, while in command of the 
Vixen, by whom he had several children, only one of whom, a daughter, survives. 

James Lawrence was a man of noble stature, and fine personal appearance. He had 
the air and manners of a gentleman-like .sailor, and was much beloved by his friends. 
He was quick and impetuous in his feelings, and sometimes manifested it on the quarter- 
deck, but, in all critical situations, his coolness was remarkable. He was a perfect man- 
of-war's-man, and an excellent quarter-deck seaman, handling his vessel not only skil- 
fully, but with all the style of the profession. Li his feelings and sentiments he was 
chivalrous, generous, and just. Indeed, his interest in the midshipmen was proverbial, 
and. on one occasion, when the midshipmen of a squadron gave a dinner to Commodore 
Kodgers, for some reason it was proposed not to ask any lieutenant. " What, not Mr. 
Lawrence !" cried one. Mr. Lawrence was excepted by acclamation, and was, in fact, 
the only lieutenant present. His humanity and kindness of heart were as conspicuoas 
as his courage, and he was never known to say rude things to his inferiors, for while his 
manner had all a seaman's frankness, and sometimes a superior's impatience, it was 
tempered by the qualities of a gentleman. His eyes iilled with tears while inflicting 
necessary punishment, nor was it common to find another who had so strong a reluctance 
to use his authority in this mode, as himself 

Tiicre is little doubt that Lawrence fought the Chesapeake contrary to his own judg- 
ment. His challenge to the Bonne Citoyenne was an additional reason for going out, 
under the circumstances, and it furnishes proof in itself of the inexpediency of using 
those means of bringing on an engagement. His deportment during the battle in which 
he fell was noble and inspiriting, and the loss of the ship may be imputed to his death. 
Even his enemies eulogised the manner in which he carried his vessel into action, and 
his dying words, a little changed by a poetical licence, have passed into a nautical 
rallying cry. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 107 

again to happen. It was soon understood that the closeness and 
short duration of this combat were actually owing- to their own offi- 
cer, who brought his ship so near that the battle was necessarily soon 
decided, while its succeeding incidents were altogether the results of 
the chances of war. At the moment when the English boarded, the 
total loss of the Shannon in men, is believed to have been at least 
equal to that of the Chesapeake and yet the former vessel was de- 
prived of the services of no important officer but the boatswain, while 
the Chesapeake had lost those of her captain, two of her lieutenants, 
master, marine officer, and boatswain, including every one in any 
authority on the upper deck. These fortuitous events are as uncon- 
nected with any particular merit on the one side, as they are with 
any particular demerit on the other ; and the feeling of the Ameri- 
cans gradually settled down into a sentiment of sincere respect for 
the high-spirited Lawrence, and of deep regret for his loss. When 
told of their defeat, and called on to acknowledge that their enemy 
was victorious in one of the most extraordinary combats of the age, 
they have generally given all the credit to the conquerors that they 
deserved, and while they frankly admit that the victory was remark- 
able, they may be excused for believing it quite as much so for stand- 
ing alone in such a war, as for any other distinguishing char- 
acteristic. 



CHAPTER XI. 



The Vixen, Capt. Reed, is captured by tlie Soutliamplon — Both vessels are soon after 
wrecked — Cruise of the Siren, Captain Parker — Death and notice of Cupt. P. — The 
Siren, Lieut. Nicholson, is captured by the Medway — The Enterprise, Lieut. Blakely, 
captures the privateer Fly — Under Lieut. Comdt. Burrows, her action with and cap- 
ture of the British brig Boxer — Commanders of both ships are killed — Notice of Lieut. 
B. — Under Lieut. Renshaw, the Enterprise captures the British pi-ivatecr Mars — 
Capture of the Rattlesnake, Lieut. Comdt. Renshaw, by the Leander. 

While these different events were occurring among the frigates 
and larger sloops of war, the lighter cruisers of the navy had not 
been idle. The fate of the Nautilus has been already mentioned ; 
the Argus's cruises have also been alluded to ; but nothing has been 
said of the Siren, Enterprise, and Vixen, the other three little vessels, 
which were so distinguished in the Tripolitan contest. The latter, 
like her sister the Nautilus, had but a short career after the declara- 
tion of war. During the first few months, she was on the southern 
coast, under the command of Captain Gadsden, but that officer dying, 
she was given to Captain Washington Reed, who went on a cruise 
among the Islands. A few days out, he was fallen in with and chased 
by the Southampton 32, Captain Sir James Lucas Yeo, which ship 
succeeded in getting alongside of the Vixen, after a short but severe 
trial of speed, and of course captured her. Both vessels were soon 



108 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

after wrecked on one of the Bahama Islands, when, it is said, that 
the American crew set an example of subordination, sobriety, and 
order, that produced a strong impression on the British officers.* 

The Siren cruised a short time in the Gulf of Mexico, without 
meeting- with any thing, under Lieutenant Commandant Joseph 
Bainbridge, and then came north, going into Boston. Here Mr, 
Bainbridge, who had been promoted, was transferred to the Frolic, 
one of the new sloops built under the ^ate law; and Mr, George 
Parker, who had been the first lieutenant of the Constitution, in her 
action with the Java, having been promoted, was attached to the brig 
in his place. The future history of this little cruiser being brief, it 
may be given here. She sailed from Boston in the summer of 1814, 
and, shortly after she got to sea. Captain Parkert died ; when Lieu- 
tenant N. Nicholson succeeded to the command. On the 12th of 
.July, the Siren fell in with the Medway 74, Captain Brine, and, 
after a vigorous chase of eleven hours, during which the brig threw 
her guns overboard, she was captured, and taken into the Cape of 
Good Hope. 

The fortune of the Enterprise was better, her character for good 
luck having been singularly maintained, and this, too, under very 
unfavourable circumstances, throughout the whole of the war. Her 
first commander was Mr. Johnston Blakely, who kept her on the 
eastern coast, where she was of great service, in driving off" the small 
privateers that were sent out of the adjacent English ports. In Au- 
gust, she captured the Fly privateer, and soon after, Mr. Blakely, 
having risen to the rank of master and commander, was given the 
command of a new sloop called the Wasp. His successor in the 
Enterprise was Mr. William Burrows. The service of the vessel, 
under this officer, was not changed, but she was still kept to watch 
the enemy's privateers, between Cape Ann and the Bay of Fundy. 

The Enterprise left Portsmouth, N. H., on the 1st of September, 
1813, and steering to the eastward, was led into Portland, in chase 
of a schooner, on the 3d. On the 4th, she swept out to sea again, 
and pursued her course to the eastward in quest of several privateers 
that were reported to be off" Manhagan. While opening the bay, 
near Penguin Point, a brig was seen getting under way, that had 
every appearance of being a vessel of war. The character of the 
stranger was soon put out of all doubt, by her setting four British 
ensigns, firing several guns, which are since known to have been 

* Shortly after, and before he could he exchanged, Captain Reed, who enjoyed a high 
reputation for spirit and conduct in the service, died of yellow fever. He had been 
Somers's first lieutenant. 

t The professional history of Captain Parker was a little singular. Hewas of a respect- 
able family in Virginia, and entered the navy young. He had risen to the rank of lieu- 
tenant, or acting lieutenant ; \vhen, taking offence at something in the deportment of a 
tradesman who came on board the ship to which he belonged, which was lying at Wash- 
ington at the time, he followed the man on shore and chastised him. The man is said to 
have presented himself to Mr. Jefferson, in the plight in which he had been left, and Mr. 
Parker was dismissed from the navj, without trial. This occurred in 1804. Determin- 
ed not to be driven from his profession. Mr. Parker entered as a master's mate, and not 
long after rose to be amaster. In 1807, he received the commission of a lieutenant, and 
in 1813, that of a master and commander. He was a brave and spirited officer, and bade 
fair to rise in the service when he died. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 109 



signals of recall to a boat that had gone to the shore, and her makinp- 
sail to close with the Enterprise. Being satisfied that he had an 
enemy and a vessel of war to deal with, Lieutenant Commandant 
Burrows hauled up, in order to clear the laud. 

While the two vessels were standing out, the Enterprise leading, 
some preparations were making on board the latter that produced 
uneasiness in a portion of her crew. This litlle brig had a small 
poop-cabin on deck, and Mr. Burrows had directed a long gun from 
forward to be brought aft, and to be run out of one of the windows. 
Owing to the rake of the stern-frame, and to the fixtures of the cabin, 
this arrangement could not be completed without cutting away some 
of the wood. On observing this, the impression became seneral 
among the men that it was the intention of their commander, who 
was almost a stranger to them, to keep oft', and to use the gun as a 
stern chaser. This was an unpleasant idea to the forecastle men in 
particular, who were burning with a desire to be carried alongside 
of the enemy. The forecastle was commanded by a young officer 
of great promise,* and the seamen at length urged him to go aft and 
state their anxiety to engage, as well as their entire confidence of 
success. This gentleman so far complied as to speak privately to 
the first lieutenant, who explained the intention of Mr. Burrows, and 
fully satisfied the people. 

At 3 P. M., believing himself far enough from the land, and having 
completed his preparations. Lieutenant Commandant Bunows. a 
man likely to think of any thing but flight on such an occasion, 
shortened sail and edged away towards his enemy, who seemed 
equally willing to engage. The two brigs approached on contrary 
tajcks. As they neared each other, or at 20 minutes past 3, they 
kept away together ; and as they came side by side, both delivered 
their fire, within pistol-shot. The Enterprise, opened with her lar- 
board, and the enemy with his starboard guns. The former brig 
drew ahead, keej)ing up an animated fire, and finding himself well 
forward of the English vessel's bow, Mr. Burrows put his helm 
a-starboard, and sheered across his antagonist's forefoot, firing the 
gun that had been run out of the cabin window once or twice with 
great eft'ect in passing. The enemy was now allowed to come up 
a^ain on the Enterprise's quarter, when the two vessels engaged with 
tneir opposite guns ; the American brig continuing to keep well on 
the enemy's bow. In this situation the English vessel lost her main- 
topmast, when the Enterprise again sheered athwart her forefoot, 
raked her once or twice more with the long gun aft, which proved to 
be the most serviceable piece in the vessel, and resumed her position 
on the enemy's starboard bow, maintaining an animated fire, ^yhile 
lyinsfin this favourable situation, the action terminated. 

In this hot and vigorous combat, the Enterprise was singularly 
well handled, maucEuvring on the bows of her enemy with efl^ect, 
while she was kept perfectly in command, and was ready at any mo- 
ment to meet any change of position on the part of her antagonist. 

*The present Captain Aalick 
VOL. II. 7 



110 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

That it was the original intention of her commander to fight her in 
this novel manner, was apparent by the forethought he discovered by 
shifting the bow gun aft. 

The fire of the enemy ceased about 4, though his colours were still 
flying. He now hailed to say he had struck ; and when ordered to 
haul down his ensign, an answer was given that it had been nailed 
aloft, and could not be lowered until the fire of the Enterprise should 
cease. After this awkward explanation, the Enterprise stopped 
firing, and took possession. The prize proved to be H. B. M. bi'ig 
Boxer 14, Captain Blythe, an officer of merit, who had been cut 
nearly in two by an eighteen-pound shot. The loss of the Boxer in 
killed has never been accurately ascertained, though it is thought to 
have been relatively heavy. She had 14 men wounded. The En- 
terprise had 1 man killed, and 13 wounded, of whom 3 subsequently 
died. Among the latter, unhappily, was her gallant commander. 
Although the display in the causalities of this action was not so 
striking as in some of the previous engagements, that in the injuries 
received by the two vessels was very great. But one eighteen-pound 
shot hulled the Enterprise ; one passed through her mainmast, and 
another through her foremast. She was much cut up aloft, particu- 
larly by irrape ; and a great many shot of the latter description had 
struck her hull. Nearly all the causalties were received from grape 
or cannister shot. On the other hand, the Boxer had been repeat- 
edly hulled, had no less than three eighteen-pound shot through her 
foremast alone, several of her guns were dismounted, her topgallant 
forecastle was nearly cut away, and her sails, spars, and rigging 
generally, were smooth, neither vessel was dismasted. The Enter- 
prise returned to Portland on the 7th, with the Boxer, where Lieu- 
tenantCommandant Burrows,* andCaptain Blythe, were both buried 
with the honours of war. 

This little success was the first that had fallen to the share of the 
American navy since the loss of the Chesapeake ; and it had a great 
influence in restoring the confidence of the luition, which, no longer 
expectiui; impossibilities, began to be satisfied with victory. The 
vessels were of the same class, and, though the Enterprise was the 
longest on deck, there was no material difference in the tonnage. 
The American vessel carried two guns the most; her armament, as 
well as that of all the other small vessels, having been increased since 
the Tripolitan war. When the Enterprise first cruised in the West 
Indies, her armament consisted of 12 sixes. After she was repaired, 
or rather rebuilt, at Trieste, 14 sixes were put in her; and subse- 

* Mr. Burrows was a son of Lieutenant Colonel Burrows, at an earlier day the com- 
mandant of the marine corps. He entered the navy, January 4th, 1800, and, though a 
man of great singularity of temperament, was generally much beloved in the service. 
He took the Enterprise into action in very gallant style, and, after receiving his wound, 
refused to be carried below, until the Boxer had struck. Mr. Burrows was killed by 
the accidental position of a limb. While encouraging his men, he laid hold of a gun- 
tackle fall, to help the crew ofacarronade that had lost .some people, to run out the gun, 
and in doing so, raL^ied one leg against the bulwark to aid the effort. At this moment, a 
shot, supposed to be a cannister, struck his thigh, and glanced from the bone into hia 
body, inllicting a fearfully painful wound, which he bore with a fortitude that equalled 
his courage. He was unmarried, and died in his 28th year. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. Ill 

quently, when altered into a brig, by crowding the ports, she carried 
14 eigliteen-pound carronades and two long chase guns. She prob- 
ably had, also, a few more men tlian the Boxer, though precisely 
what number cannot be ascertained, as the little brig is said to have 
had some supernumeraries. Both brigs were gallantly fought, and 
it is admitted that the Boxer was not given up too soon. When Mr. 
Burrows fell, the command of the Enterprise devolved on Lieuten- 
ant E. B. M'Call, who brought both brigs into port.* 

After the death of Mr. Burrows, Lieutenant James Renshaw was 
appointed to the command of the Enterprise, under which officer, 
during the following winter, she made a cruise to the southward, as 
far as the West Lidies. Here her usual good fortune accompanied 
her; for though she sailed badly, and was three times hard chased, 
she always escaped. The Rattlesnake 16, a fast-sailing brig, bought 
into the service, was in company, under the orders of Lieutenant 
Commandant Creighton, who was the senior officer of the two ves- 
sels. Mr. Creighton went on cruising ground much frequented by 
the enemy, and yet fell in with no man-of-war he could engage. He 
was chased by heavy ships, and, to use his own expression, " in 
every instance, the good fortune of the Enterprise has been wonder- 
fully manifest." The Rattlesnake outsailed her consort with so 
much ease, that most of the cruise she was under her topsails. 

While oft" the coast of Florida, the Enterprise got alongside of the 
Mars 14, a British privateer, with a crew of 75 men. Wlien the two 
brigs appeared, near half the people of the Mars took to the boats 
and went ashore, to escape impressment ; but her master, notwith- 
standing this reduction of his force, ranged up under the broadside 
of the Enterprise, with his tompions out and guns trained. Lieuten- 
ant Renshaw being ignorant of the strength of the crew of the Mars, 
fired into her, when she struck, having had 4 men killed and wound- 
ed. On the 2oth of April, the brigs separated while chased by a 
frigate. The enemy pursued the Enterprise, and for 70 hours 
pressed her very hard. Lieutenant Commandant Renshaw was 
compelled to throw all his guns but one overboard, and yet the ene- 
my frequently got within the range of shot. On the morninof of the 
27th, it was perfectly calm, and the frigate, then at long oun-shot, 
began to hoist out her boats, when a light breeze sprung up, and 
brouglit this lucky little brig again dead to windward. Nothing but 
this favourable shift of wind saved the Enterprise from capture. 

Shortly after, Mr. Creighton was promoted, and appointed to the 

"There is little doubt tliat Captain Blythe eniras^ed with stronar expectations of captur- 
ing the Enterprise. He knew of her beine;- near him, and probably knew her when he 
got under way. It is impossible he should not also have known her force. His people 
came into action in high spirits ; and the colours were nailed to the mast by his orders. 
Whenthe Enterprise hailed to know if the Boxer had struck, one of the officers of the 
latter sprang on a gun, shook both fists at the Americans, and cried out, " No — no — no," 
with the addition of some pretty strong terms of opprobrium. So powerful was this 
gentleman's excitement, that his superior had to order him down, lest he miL;ht he the 
means of drawing a fire on tlie vessel. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the officers 
and men of the Enterprise laughed at this ludicrous scene, which was rendered so much 
the more piquant by the process of lowering colours that had been nailed aloft. These 
expedients may jiroducc trood, with particular crews, and in peculiar circumstances; 
but, as rules, cliailenges .should not be given, uor colours nailed to the mast. 



112 NAVAL HISTORY [1813. 

command of a new sloop of war just launched at Washington, and 
Mr. Renshaw was transferred to the Rattlesnake. The two vessels 
being in a southern port, the Enterprise was sent to Charleston, 
where she became the guard vessel, her sailing being too indifferent 
to allow of her being sent to sea again, in such a war. When cruis- 
ing in the Rattlesnake, in lat. 40° N., long. 33° W., Lieutenant 
Commandant Renshaw was chased by a frigate, and compelled to 
throw overboard all his armament but the two long gnns. By this 
means he escaped. June 22d, near the same spot, however, he fell 
in with the Leander 50, a new ship, constructed on the most approved 
modern plan, Mhich vessel captured him, the Rattlesnake having 
been unfortunately placed between an enemy that had the advantage 
of the wind, and the land. On this occasion. Lieutenant Command- 
ant Renshaw kept his colours flying in a very steady and ofiicer-like 
manner, until the Leander threw her shot into the Rattlesnake with 
precision and effect. 



CHAPTER Xn. 



Six new sloops of war added to the navy — Cruise of the Argns, Capt. Allen, on the 
coast of England, and Ireland — she captures twenty sail of merchantmen — Her action 
with and capture by the Pelican — Death of Capt. Allen — sketch of his life — The Ed- 
terprise — summary of her services. 

In addition to the law of January 2d, 1813, which authorised the 
construction of four ships of the line and six heavy frigates, it will 
be remembered that the executive was also empowered to cause 
several sloops of war to be laid down. These ships were of the class 
of the Hornet and Wasp, but were a little larger than the old vessels 
of the sanie rate ; and they all mounted 20 thirty-two-pound carron- 
ades, besides the two bow guns. Most of them were got into the 
water in the course of the year 1813, though their preparations were 
in different degrees of forwardness. They were called the Wasp, 
the Frolic, the Peacock, the Erie, the Ontario, and the Argus. As 
there had been a brig in the navy of the latter name, however, with 
which the reader has long been acquainted, it is now necessary to 
allude to her fate. 

After the return of the Argus from her cruise under Lieutenant 
Commandant Sinclair, as has been already stated, Mr. William 
Henry Allen, who had been the first lieutenant of the United States 
44, in her action with the Macedonian, was appointed to command 
her. Lieutenant Allen first obtained the Argus by an order from 
ComiTiodore Decatur; and there was a moment when it was uncer- 
tain whether Captain Riddle, or this gentleman, should go to sea in 
the brig, Imt the former was put into the Hornet. Mr. Allen was 
shortly after promoted, when his new station was confirmed by tlie 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 113 

department. June 18th, 1813, the Argus sailed from New York, 
with Mr. Crawford, then recently appointed minister to France, on 
board ; and after a passage of 23 days, she arrived safe at I'Orient. 
Remaining but three days in the port. Captain Allen proceeded on 
a cruise. 

The Argus sailed from i'Orient about the middle of July, and her 
exploits fur the next few weeks, revive the recollections of those of 
Captains Jones, Wickes, and Conynghani, during the Revolution. 
Captain Allen kept his brig for some time in the chops of the Eng- 
lish Channel, then went round the Land's End, and shifted his cruis- 
ing ground to the Irish Channel. He captured twenty sail of 
merchantmen, while passing, as it might be, through the very centr6 
of the enemy, most of which were destroyed. The appearance of 
this vessel so near the British coast, excited much interest in the 
English commercial world, and several cruisers were immediately 
sent in chase of her. 

It will readily be understood, that the duty on board the Argus, 
was of the most harassing and fatiguing nature, the feelings of Cap- 
tain Allen inducing him to allow the masters and passengers of the 
different vessels he took, to remove every thing of value, that belonged 
to themselves, before he caused the prizes to be burned. Indeed, 
in so honourable and chivalrous a spirit did this excellent officer con- 
duct the peculiar warfare in which he was engaged, that even the 
enemy did ample justice to his liberality. 

On the night of the 13tl) of August, the Argus fell in with a vessel 
from Oporto, loaded with wine. It has been said, and apparently on 
authority entitled to credit, that a good deal of the liquor was brought 
on board the brig, clandestinely, as the boats passed to and fro, and 
that many of the people, who had been over-worked and kept from 
their rest, partook of the refreshment it afforded too freely. A little 
before daylight the prize was set on fire, when the Argus left her, un- 
der easy sail. Shortly after, a large brig of war was seen standing 
down upon the American vessel, under a cloud of canvass ; and 
finding it impossible to gain the wind of his enemy. Captain Allen 
shortened sail to allow him to close. At 6, the Argus wore, and fired 
her larboard broadside, the English vessel being then within good 
grape and cannister range. The fire was immediately returned, the 
brigs fast drawing nearer. Within four minutes afterthe commence- 
ment of the action, Captain Allen was mortally wounded, by a round 
shot's carrying off a leg. He refused to be taken below, but fainting 
from loss of blood, he was carried off the deck at 8 minutes past 6. 
At 12 minutes past 6, Mr. Watson, the first lieutenant was severely 
wounded in the head by a grape-shot, which stunned him, and he 
was also taken below. But one lieutenant remained, Mr. W. H. 
Allen, who continued to figlit the brig, in a very gallant manner, 
under the most discouraging circumstances. At this juncture, the 
Argus was beautifully handled, an attempt of the enemy to cross her 
stern, by keeping away, having been frustrated, by the American 
brig's luffing into the wind, making a half-board and throwing in a 
completely raking broadside herself. But all the braces aft having 



114 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 



been shot away, the Argus broke round off, in filling again, when 
the enemy succeeded in crossing her stern and raking. At 25 min- 
utes past 6, the wheel-ropes and nearly all the running rigging being 
gone, tlie Argus become unmanageable, and the enemy chose his 
position at pleasure. At half past 6, Mr. Watson returned to the 
deck, when he found the enemy lying under the Argus's stern, pour- 
ing in his fire without resistance. An attempt was made to get 
alongside, with a view to board, but it was found in)practicable to 
move the American brig, while the enemy kept on her quarter, or 
bow, throwing in a cross or raking fire with impunity, the Argus sel- 
dom being able to bring a gun to bear. At 47 minutes past 6, the 
colours were ordered to be hauled down; the enemy, at the same 
moment, fallinir on board, and taking possession over the bow. 

The English brig was the Pelican 18, Captain Maples, mounting 
16 thirty -two-pound carronades, four long guns, and one twelve- 
pound carronade. The armament of the Argus, by crowding guns 
into the bridle ports, was 18 twenty-four-pound carronades and two 
chase guns. The enemy was so much heavier, that it may be doubt- 
ed whether the Argus could have captured her antagonist under any 
ordinary circumstances, but it has been usual, in the service, to im- 
pute this defeat to a want of officers, and to the fact that the people 
of the Artjus were not in a fit condition to go into action. The Ameri- 
can vessel was particularly well officered, so far as quality was con- 
cerned, though her batteries were necessarily left without a proper 
supervision, after Mr. Watson was taken below. It is not easy to 
believe that Captain Allen would have engaged with his people under 
any very obvious influence from a free use of wine, but nothing is 
more probable than that the crew of the Argus should have been 
overworked, in the peculiar situation in which they were placed; 
and they may have been exposed to the peculiar influence mentioned, 
without the circumstance having come to the knowledge of the su- 
perior officers. They have, indeed, been described as " nodding at 
their guns," from excessive fatigue. One thing would seem to be 
certain, that, while the brig was beautifully bandied, so long as she 
was at all manageable, the fire of no other American cruiser, in this 
war, was as little destructive as that of the Argus. This has been 
attributed to the fatigue of the crew, and it is reasonable to suppose 
that the circumstances of the two lieutenants having been so early 
taken from the batteries, did not contribute to the accuracy of the 
fire. It ought, moreover, to be added, that the Pelican was ahout a 
fourth larger than her antagonist.* 

On the other hand, the fire of the enemy, when its length, closeness, 
and want of resistance, are considered, does not appear to have been 
remarkable. The Arijus had two midshipmen, and four men killed, 

* Since the publication of tlic first edition of this book, we have heard the following 
circumstance from an otticer of the Argus. The br'g having- expended a eood deal of 
her powder, Captain Allen took a quantity on board, from a prize bound to South Ameri- 
ca. Shortly after, the eunnor had occasion to fill a number of cylinders, and he used the 
powder of the prize, which lay uppermost in the masazine. It was afterwards ascer- 
tained that this powder was condemned powder of the British government, going to 
South America to be sold. In proof of its etleet, the officer in question, assures us that ths 
Pelican's side was dotted with the impression of shots that did not enter 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 115 

and 17 ineii wounded, in an action of three quarters of an hour. The 
PeHcan notwithstanding-, was extremely well managed, and was very 
gaUantly fought. She lost 7 men in killed and wounded, but ap- 
pears to have suffered very little in her hull, or even aloft. 

Cjiptain Allen* died of his wounds in the hospital of Mill Prison, 
and was buried by the enemy with the honours of war. Mr. Watsou 
recovered of his hurts. 

Thus the navy lost all but the Enterprise, of the five little cruisers 
that had figured before Tripoli, and which had become endeared to 
the service by its traditions and recollections. The x4.rgus alone, 
had been taken under circumstances that allowed a gun to be fired. 
Those who remembered the time when Stewart, Somers, Decatur, 
Hull, and Smith, bold and ambitious young seamen, commanded 
these vessels, in a warfare conducted in a distant sea, attached an 
importance to their loss that was altogether disproportioned to their 
intrinsic value, and it did not fail to excite remarks, that the Enter- 
prise alone, whose good fortune had already been so cons])icuous, 
sliould continue to cruise, with impunity, in the very centre of the 
enemy's force, while her four consorts had fallen, one by one.f 

* William Henry Allen was born at Providence, Rhode Island, October 21st, 1784. 
His father had been an officer of the RevoliUion, and his mother was the sister of one 
of the governors of the state. He entered the navy April 2Sth, 1800, or in his sixteenth 
year, and his first cruise was in the George Washington, Captain Bainbridge ; his second 
in the Philadelphia, Captain S. Barron; his third in the John Adams, Captain Rodgers. 
He was made an acting lieutenant m the Constitution, Commodore Rodgers, in 1805. 
He was one of the Chesapeake's lieutenants in 1807, and the only gun that was fired at 
the Leopard, \vas touched ofi'by Mr. Allen, by means of a coal held in his finsers. He 
remained in the Chesapeake after Captain Decatur took her, and he followed that officer 
to the United States 44, as her first lieutenant. In this latter capacity he was serving 
when the Macedonian ^vas taken. On that occasion. Mr. Allen obtained great credit, as 
the executive officer of the ship, and the manner in which he repaired the damages of the 
piize has been esteemed highly seamanlike and beautiful. His promotion, appointment 
to the Argus, and death, appear in the text. 

Captain Allen was esteemed one of the best officers of his cla.ss in the navy. A thor- 
ough man-of-war's man, he was of mild and gentleman-like deportment, a fine, martial 
pei-sonal appearance, and of respectable mental attainments. His influence over the 
crews with which he sailed was very great, and it is not possible to say, now, what might 
have been the result of the combat in which he fell, had he not been so early killed. He 
was unmarried. 

The two lieutenants of the Argus, though young in service, were both men of great 
merit. Mr. Watson died while serving on the West India station, a few years later, and 
left an unusual high name, for his gentlemanly and personal qualities ; while the junior 
lieutenant, who bore the same name as Captain Allen, without being a relative, was 
killed in battle with pirates, a few years later, leaving as high a professional and private 
character behind him, as any man of his age, who ever died in the service. He was an 
officer of great ingenuity, respectable attainments, proved courage, and high principles. 

t The hick of the Enterprise will be more apparent, by a short summary of her .services. 
In the French war, under Lieutenant Commandant Shaw, .she took more French pri- 
vateers than any vessel in the West Indies, and her action with le Flambeau, was one 
of the warmest of the sort known. In th.e succeeding war, she took the Tripoli, of equal 
force. She may be said to have burned the Philadelphia, as, with a very trifling excep- 
tion, this duty was performed by her officers and men. She took the Bo.xer in the En- 
glish war, and, notwithstanding she sailed very badly after she was rigged into a brig, 
the enemy never could catch her. 



116 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Attack on the British ship, Narcissus, by the gun-boats in Hampton Roads — Attack on 
Craney Island — Notice of Mr. Sigourney, killed on board the Asp — Blockade of the 
United States, Macedonian, and Hornet — Capture of the American brig- Viper, Licat 
Henley — Loss of the schooner Ferret, Lieut. Kearny — Attack on the Alligator, sail- 
ing-master Basset— she beats oH'her assailants— Mr. Basset is promoted — The Alligator 
is sunk in a gale on the coast of Georgia — Loss of all but sixteen of her crew — .She is 
afterwards raised — Exploits of Capt. Kearny — Notice of his services — Gallant de- 
fence of gun-boat No. 160, by sailing-master Paine — his promotion — Warfare in the 
Delaware — Capture of gun-boat No. 121, by the enumy'.s ships Junon and Martin. 

Shortly after the commencement of the war, the enemy had sent 
Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren to command against the httle navy 
of the repubHc, with Rear-Admiral Cockburn as the next in rank. 
Several two-decked ships appeared on the coast, and near a hundred 
British pennants were assembled in the American seas. A consid- 
erable force collected in the Chesapeake, a part of which was kept to 
watch the Constellation, in the manner mentioned, while the small 
vessels made descents on the coast, or entered the rivers and creeks, 
with which those waters abound, carrying- on a species of warfltre that 
had no other effect on the American nation, than to irritate the ])ublic 
mind, and which, as it regarded the enemy, could not have had a 
very beneficial influence on their tone, while it must have been re- 
pugnant to the feelings of most of those employed on duty so much 
opposed to the ordinary habits of military men. 

In the early part of June, 1813, the enemy was thought to have 
had more than twenty sail of cruisers in and about the Chesapeake, 
of which several were ships of the line. The flags of the two admi- 
rals were flying among them, and it was in their presence that the 
first of the three attempts on the Constellation, which have been al- 
ready related, was made. On the 18th, three frigates came into 
Hampton, Roads, and one of them went up nearly to the quarantine 
ground, sending her boats to desti-oy some small vessels in the James. 
The next day the flotilla of gun-boats descended to attack her, under 
the orders of Captain Tarbell, then temporarily in command of the 
Constellation. There were fifteen boats in all, acting in two divi- 
sions, one of which was directed by Lieutenant Gardner, and the 
other by Lieutenant Robert Henley. Officers and men were taken 
from the frigate to man them, including nearly all her lieutenants and 
midshipmen. A company of riflemen volunteered to join the sea- 
men, and were also distributed among the boats. The weather pre- 
vented Captain Tarbell from approaching the enemy, until Sunday 
the 20th, when it fell calm, and the gun-boats dropped down within 
a good range for their shot, and opened on the upper frigate, about 
4, A. M. At this time the two other frigates were still lying in the 
Roads. 

The gun-boats were formed in a crescent, and a brisk cannonade 
was commenced on the part of the Americans. It was some time 
before the enemy returned it, the approach in the dark and mist 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 217 

having taken him completely by surprise. The flotilla began the 
action at anchor, but it was soon found impossible to keep the boats 
steady, and most of them weighed, and got out their sweeps, by means 
of which the guns were kept bearing in the right direction. The de- 
fence of the frigate was very feeble, and after discharging two or three 
broadsides, she got under way, but the wind was too light to enable 
her either to close, or to haul oft'. This vessel was in a very critical 
situation, and owed her escape in a great measure to her consorts ; 
for, after a severe cannonade of more than an hour, one of the ships 
below was enabled to close, when a much sharper contest occurred. 
But the wind increasing, and the third ship drawing near, Captain 
Tarbell made a signal for the flotilla to retire. 

In this aflair, most of the boats were conducted with spirit. Their 
fire was well directed, and they treated the upper ship quite roughly. 
The fire of this vessel was extremely feeble, and it appears to have 
done no execution whatever. That of the second ship, however, was 
very animated, and it was particularly well directed. Althoui>h the 
loss of the Americans in men was small, consisting of only one mas- 
ter's mate killed, and two men wounded, the enemy's grape flew 
around them in great numbers. One boat received a bad shot be- 
tween wind and water, and several had their sweeps shot awav, or 
were otherwise injured. The gun-boat commanded by Mr. Nantz, 
sailing-master, was crippled, and in danger of being captured by the 
enemy, w hen, by order of Captain Tarbell, she was taken in tow by 
the boat commanded by Lieutenant W. B. Shubrick, of the Constel- 
lation, and brought off". 

The frigate first engaged was thought to be the Narcissus 32, and 
the vessel that came to her relief, the Junon 38, Captain Saunders. 
This experiment had the efiect to convince most of the sea-ofticers 
engaged on board the gun-boats, however, of the bad qualities of that 
description of vessel, they having been very generally found wanting 
in a sufficient degree of steadiness to render their fire certain, even 
in smooth water. The recoils of the guns caused them to roll to a 
degree that rendered the aim uncertain, and it has been seen that 
they could only be kept in the proper positions by the aid of sweeps. 

The next flood, a large force of the enemy, consisting of fourteen 
sail, came into the Roads, and an attack was expected. On the 20th, 
the enemy's ships weighed, and ascended with the tide to the mouth 
of James river, where, in the afternoon, they w^ere seen making 
preparations to send up a large force in boats. As so much depended 
on the defence of the batteries of Craney Island, Captain Cassin, 
who commanded the naval force at Norfolk, sent three of the lieu- 
tenants of the Constellation, Messrs. Neale, W. Branford Shubrick, 
and Sanders, on shore, with 100 seamen, to take charge of the prin- 
cipal guns. This party was sustained by Lieutenant Breckenridge, 
of the marines, and about 50 men of that gallant corps. Most of 
the officers of the navy then at Norfolk, and who did not belong to 
the frigate, were also employed in the gun-boats, or about the island. 

Early on the morningof the 22d, the enemy was discovered land- 
ing a large force round the point of the Nansemond; and about 8 A. 



118 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

M. the barges of the vessels of war attempted to land in front of 
Craney Island, at a point where they were safe from the fire of the 
gun-boats, though exposed to that of the seamen's battery. Mr. 
Neale now opened his fire, wliich was directed with great coolness 
and precision, and, after having three of his boats sunk, the enemy 
abandoned the attempt. The narrative of the remainder of the op- 
erations of this day, belongs to the general history of the war, rather 
than to a work of this character. 

The officers, seamen, and marines of the Constellation, as well as 
the other portions of the navy employed on this occasion, gained 
great credit for their steadiness, discipline, and spirit. One of the 
barges sunk was said to have been a peculiar boat, called, from the 
great number of oars she rowed, the Centipede. She was described 
as having been fifty feet long, and as having contained 75 men. 
About 40 prisoners were made from the boats that were sunk, though 
the total loss of the enemy who were opposed to the seamen and 
marines, is not known. Captain Cassin, in describing the fire of 
the seamen's battery, observed that it resembled the shooting of rifle- 
men. There is no doubt that the enemy found it much too cool and 
direct to be faced. 

The government had fitted out several small vessels for the defence 
of the bays and rivers, and among others were the Scorpion and Asp. 
On the 14th, these two little cruisers, got under way from the Yeo- 
comico, and stood out into the river, when, at 10 A. M., a considera- 
ble force of the enemy was seen in chase. The Scorpion, on board 
of which Avas the senior officer, immediately made a signal for the 
Asp to act at discretion, and began to beat up the river. The Asp 
being a dull sailer, her commander, Mr. Sigourney, thought it expe- 
dient to re-enter the creek. He was followed by two brigs, which 
anchored oflT the bar, and hoisted out their boats. Mr. Sigourney 
now deemed it more prudent to run higher up the Yeocomico ; and 
as the enemy was already pulling in, he cut his cable and made sail. 
Three boats soon after attacked the Asp, which made a very gallant 
defence, and handsomely beat them off. The enemy, however, 
reinforced, and renewed the attack with five boats, when Mr. Sigour- 
ney ran the Asp on shore, and was boarded by about 50 men, who 
succeeded in carrying her. She was set on fire and abandoned, but 
Mr. M'Clintock, the officer second in command, got on board her 
again, and succeeded in extinguishing the fiames. In this affair, 
Mr. SiiTOurney was killed, dying sword in hand in defence of his ves- 
sel, in a manner to reflect the highest credit on his professional train- 
ing and personal gallantry.* The Asp had but two or three light 
guns, and acrewof21souls. Of the latter, 10 were killed, wounded, 
and missing; facts that attest tlie gallantry of the defence. 

While these events were occurring at the south, some movements 
fartlier north brought a part of the enemy's force within the waters 

* Mr. Sigourney was from Boston, and had sowed as a midshipman under Lawrence, 
in whose school he had ohlained his notions of duty. Few persons discovered more ap- 
titude for the profession than thisyouni; gentleman, who, at the time of his death, had 
beeu but five years in the service. Plis age must have been about 21. 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 119 



of Long Island Sound, where, with occasional changes of ships, it 
continued to the close of the war. After the United States had 
refitted at New York, on her return from the cruise in which slie had 
captured the Macedonian, Commodore Decatur prepared to sail 
again, with the latter frigate in company. The Hornet being about 
to go to sea, at the same time, in order to join the Chesapeake, Cap- 
tain Lawrence, the three vessels got under way, and passed Hell 
Gate on the 27th of May, with a view to run ofl" the coast between 
Montauk and Block Island. It was June the 1st before the ships 
found an oi)portunity to pass through the Race ; but they wore met 
near the end of the island by a greatly superior force, and were chased 
into New London. Here all three of the vessels were closely block- 
aded, nor was either of the frigates able to get to sea during the 
remainder of the war, though op])ortunities were long and anxiously 
sought. In the end, their officers and people were transferred to 
other vessels. It will give an idea of the great importance that ought 
to be attached to the means of raising blockades, when it is remem- 
bered that, while watching the three American vessels which then lay 
in the Thames above New London, the enemy also had it in his 
power to blockade the most important point on the continent con- 
nected with the coasting trade. 

About this time, also, a small brig called the Viper, which had been 
put into the service under the orders of Lieutenant John D. Henley, 
was taken by the Narcissus 3'2, under circumstances that require no 
particular description. Mr. Henley, as well as Mr. Crane, of the 
Nautilus, Mr. Nicholson, of the Siren, Mr. Watson, of the Argus, 
Mr. Renshaw, of the Rattlesnake, Captain Reed, of the Vixen, and 
all the officers and men under their orders, were found, by regular 
courts of inquiry, to have done their duty on the several occasions in 
which they had lost the different vessels named. 

The U. S. schooner Ferret, Lieutenant Kearny, another of the 
little vessels employed on the southern coast, in order to protect the 
bays, rivers, .sounds, and inlets, was lost in February, 1814, on the 
breakers of Stony Inlet, but her people were all s.aved. 

In January of the same year, the Alligator, another small schooner, 
commanded by Mr. Basset, a sailing-master, was lying at anchor oif 
the coast, abreast of Cole's Island, and observing an enemy's frigate 
and brig, just without the breakers, Mr. Basset suspected that an 
attempt would be made on him in the course of the night. Prepa- 
rations to receive the enemy were made accordingly. About half- 
past 7 in the evening, six boats were discovered, under cover of the 
marsh grass, pulling up with muffled oars. When near enough, they 
were hailed, and a musket was fired at them. The boats now made 
a general discharge of musketry and gra})e, which the Alligator 
immediately returned. The schooner then cut her cable, and avail- 
ing herself of a light breeze, she was immediately brought under com- 
mand of her helm. By this prompitude, Mr. Basset succeeded in 
beating oflf his assailants, notwithstanding the schooner soon after 
grounded. The Alligator had 2 men killed, and 2 wounded, while 
the loss of the enemy was never known. The schooner had but 40 



120 NAVAL HISTORY. [1815. 

men on board, while the boats are thought to have contained about 
100. Of the latter, the loss must have been severe, or they would not 
have abandoned the attack after the Alligator had grounded. The 
firing continued half an hour, and the schooner was a good deal cut 
up in her sails and ricging. A large cutter, that was supposed to 
have been one of the boats of the enemy on this occasion, was shortly 
after picked up on the North Edisto, much injured by shot. The 
bodies of one officer and of a common seaman were also found near 
by. The former had lost an arm, besides receiving a musket-shot 
wound. Mr. Basset was promoted for his gallantry. 

We will connect the incidents that relate to the Alligator, by 
recording here a singular accident that not long after befel her. After 
refitting, she returned to her cruising ground, under Mr. Basset; and 
July 1st, 1814, while lying in Port Royal Sound, ofl' the island of 
St. Simons, on the coast of Georgia, a black cloud was seen rapidly 
approaching fi-om the direction of the continent. As this gust had 
every appearance of a tornado, Mr. Basset, certain it would capsize 
his schooner, unless avoided by getting before the wind, cut his cable, 
got tJjie head of his jib up, and endeavoured to run the Alligator 
ashore. The vessel was no sooner dead before the wind, than she 
was struck by a tremendous gust which she withstood ; when, believ- 
ing the danger over, Mr. Basset ordered the helm down, and the 
small bower let go. This brought the vessel up. In about ten 
minutes, however, she was struck by another gust, and the second 
cable was cut. Unhappily, it was useless, for this new eflort of the 
wind whirled the Alligator round and round, as if she had been a 
shell, and upset her. The schooner filled and sunk in four fathoms 
water, with her head to the eastward. Unfortunately, a cutter that 
was lying on one side of the deck, was thrown over to the other, 
killing or desperately wounding many persons, and catching Messrs. 
Brailesford and Rogerson, midshipmen, beneath it. These two gen- 
men, and 17 men, were known to have been drowned ; 4 were 
missing, who most probably shared the same fate, and 16 persons 
were saved. The Alligator was subsequently raised. 

The in-shore war at the south was distinguished by many other 
little exploits, resembling those already related ; one of which, that 
was performed under the eyes of Captain Dent, who commanded at 
Charleston, is deserving of particular notice. Althoujih it will be 
advancing the time to a period near the close of the war, it may be 
related here, with a view to present to the reader most of these Isolated 
instances of gallantry in one picture. 

In January, 1815, while Captain Dent was at the North Edisto, 
he obtained information that a party of officers and men belonging 
to the Hebrus, Captain Palmer, was watering on one of the islands 
of the vicinity, and he directed Mr. Lawrence Kearny to proceed 
outside, with three barges, to cut them ofl\ while a party of militia 
endeavoured to assail them by land. The frigate was at anchor, 
out of gun-shot ; but as soon as she perceived the design of the 
Americans, she fired guns, and made other signals of recall, when 
two of the boats pulled towards her, and a tender, that contained a 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 121 

strong party, attempted to run out also. Fortunately the wind 
shifted, bringing the Hebrus to windward of the American barges, 
it is true, but the tender to leeward of them. Discovering his advan- 
tage, Mr. Kearny determined to make a dash at the latter, regardless 
of the frigate ar.d of the two boats that were pulling oft". The He- 
brus, perceiving the danger in which her tender was placed, now 
made the greatest exertions to save her. Shot were fired at her own 
cutters, to drive them back to the assistance of the tender; and a 
third boat was sent from the frigate with the same object. She also 
opened her fire on the American barges with so much eftect, one of 
her shot taking off" the head of a man at Mr. Kearny's side. But 
this gallant officer, disregarding every thing but his object, laid the 
tender aboard in the steadiest manner, .and carried her oft', directly 
under the guns of the frigate to which she belonged. The Hebrus's 
launch was also taken, her people having hurried on board the ten- 
der w hen the alarm was given. The latter had a carronade and six 
brass swivels in her, besides other arms. 

Mr. Kearny made about 40 prisoners on this occasion. The He- 
brus intercepting his return, by the Avay he had come out, he cai'ried 
his prize to the South Edisto. 

A few days later, Mr. Kearny, in the launch of the Hebrus, with 
a crew of 2-5 men, went out and captured a tender belonging to the 
Severn, having on board between 30 and 40 men. Handsomer ex- 
ploits of the sort were not performed in the war.* 

To this list of the minor conflicts, may be added an attack on gun- 
boat No. 160, commanded by Mr. Paine. This officer, who then 
held the rank of sailing-master, was convoying a number of coasters 
from Savannah to St. Mary's, when an expedition, consisting of a 
tender full of men, and ten boats, attacked him in St. Andrew's 
Sound, about 3 A. M. of the 6th of October, 1814. After a short 
cannonading and a sharp discharge of musketry, that lasted about 
20 minutes, the enemy closed, and carried the boat by boarding. 
There were but 16 men fit for duty in No. 160 at the time ; her entire 
complement consisting of 30 souls. Mr. Paine was badly wounded, 
as were two of his people. The enemy suff"ered severely, the defence 
having been spirited and obstinate. t 

A short notice of the warfare in the Delaware properly occurs 
next. This bay had no longer the importance it possessed in the war 
of 1775. Then, Philadelphia was both the commercial and politi- 
cal capital of the country, but it had now lost the latter distinction, 
and in the way of shipping, several ports were fast outstripping it. 

* The services and professional character of Captain Kearny, who is still living-, are 
much better known to the navy thnn to the conntrj'. This gentleman was put in situa- 
tions of command and responsibility soon after he entered the service in 1807 ; and while 
a lieutenant, he probably had commanded vessels longer than any captain then on the 
list. He commanded the Enterprise many years, as a lieutenant; and before he was 
made a master and commander, had passed about ten years in separate commands. In 
the Mediterranean, at a much later day it was said of this officer, that his ship, the War- 
ren 20, had done more to suppress piracy than all the other vessels, French, English, 
American, and Russian, united. Captain Kearny'smother wasasister of the regretted 
Lawrence, whose family namehe bears. 

t Mr. Paine was promoted for his good conduct, and is now a commander. 



122 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

The enemy, consequently, paid much less attention to these waters 
than to those of the Chesapeake, and to otiier points of mor interest. 
The length of the river, too, added to the secui-ity of the places that 
lie on its banks, and there was little apprehension of any serious 
descent. Still, a flotilla consisting of gun-boats and block-sloops 
had been equipped, and it was put under the orders of Lieutenant 
Angus, an officer of tried spirit. 

On the 29th of July, 1813, Mr. Angus learned that an enemy's 
sloop of war had come round the cape, and he dropped down to 
reconnoitre, with eight gun-boats and two block-sloops. The sloop 
of war had grounded on the outside of Crow's shoals, and it was de- 
termined to attack her. Before the flotilla could get in order, how- 
ever, a frigate came in, and anchored within supporting distance of 
the sloop. At length all the boats but one, No. 1'21, Mr. Sliead, were 
in their stations, and the cannonading commenced. No. 121 had 
unfortunately drifted a mile and a half from her consorts, and, though 
she kept sweeping, no exertions could get her back into the line. 
After a sharp cannonade of more than an hour, the British vessels 
sent eight boats, with a strong party of men, against the straggler. 
Finding all his eflx)rts to regain the line ineffectual, Mr. Shead an- 
chored, and prepared to receive the enemy, with a coolness that was 
very creditable. As soon as his boat was steady, IMr. Sliead fired at 
the enemy. At the first discharge the pintle of the gun gave way. 
Notwithstanding this accident, a second shot was fired, and with 
effect, but the cun-carriaffe was nearly torn to pieces. Mr. Shead 
loaded again, in the hope of obtaining an accidental range, but with- 
out success. In the mean time, the enemy .steadily advanced, keep- 
ing up a warm fire from his boat-guns and small arms, and the people 
of No. 121 prepared to repel boarders. The overwhelming force of 
the assailants, however, rendered resistance useless, and the Enjrlish 
soon covered the decks of the gun-boat, her people being driven 
below. 

The enemy's ships were the Junon 38, and Martin 16 ; and their 
loss was 7 killed and 12 wounded. No. 121 had 7 men wounded. 

During the summer of 1813, after the capture of the Chesapeake, 
the American government had but three frigates at sea ; the Presi- 
dent 44, the Congress 38, and Essex 32. The Constitution 44, was 
undergoing repairs ; the Constellation 38, was blockaded at Norfolk, 
and the United States 44, and the Macedonian 38, were closely 
watched in the Thames, at New London. The Adams 28, was un- 
dergoing repairs and alterations ; the John Adams 28, after having 
been once cut down, and once raised upon, had been laid up, as unfit 
to cruise in such a war. She was subsequently cut down a second 
time, but was not yet in a condition to go to sea ; and the New York 
36, and Boston 28, were virtually condemned. The war had con- 
tinued but little more than a year, when all the brigs were captured, 
with the exception of the Enterprise, which, as has been already 
stated, was no longer trusted at sea. 

The loss of the small vessels induced professional men to reflect 
on the causes, and it appears to have been the better opinion, that 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 123 

too many guns were crowded upon them, and that they were over- 
manned. The great number of people on board, in particular, helped 
to impede their sailing, by compelling the vessel to take in a larger 
stock of provisions and supplies than they were originally intended 
to carry, bringing them too low in the water ; the lightness of their 
frames, and their sharpness, rendering it impossible to dispense with 
a corresponding weight of iron ballast. Had these vessels remained 
schooners, with crews of 70 or 80 men, and their original armaments, 
their chances for running would probably have been much increased. 
It should be remembered, however, that a small cruiser is always 
much more liable to being captured than a large one, as a frigate is 
of sufficient force to defeat the attempts of more than half the vessels 
of war that are usually fallen in with at sea. 

The administration manifested prudence and foresight, in the class 
of vessels that were now constructed to supersede the smaller cruis- 
ers, sloops of war, of a size and force that were sufficient to resist 
any thing beneath the smaller frigates, having been laid down. 
These vessels were large enough to carry sail hard, while their crews 
bore no proportion to those of the little craft mentioned. Of nearly 
three times their tonnage, they did not carry twice the number of 
people of the latter, and, of course, were enabled to dispense with a 
proportionate amount of stores. In the end, their good qualities 
were made manifest ; and had hostilities continued for any length 
of time, it is probable that the large class sloop of war would have 
been found to be the most serviceable vessel the country could have 
employed, in the absence of a force sufficient to keep the coast en- 
tirely clear of the enemy. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Lanncli of llie Guerriere, Independence, and Java — Capture of the Frolic, Capt. Bain- 
bridge, by tlie frigate Orpheus — The Adams cut down and lengthened — her cruise 
under Capt. Morris — she captures the Woodbridge — is burnt at Penobscot — Cruise of 
the Wasp, Capt. Blakely — she captures the Reindeer — cuts out a vessel with military 
stores — her action with and destruction of the Avon — she captures the brigs Three 
Brothers, Bacchus, and Attalanta — her uncertain fate — Notice of Capt. Blakely — The 
Peacock, Capt. Warrington, captures the Epervier — she crui.ses in the enemy's seas, 
and captures fourteen merchantmen — Capture of the Highflyer by the President, Com. 
Rodgers. 

The Guerriere 44, the first frigate that had been put into the water, 
on the sea-board, by the American government, since the year 1801, 
was launched at Philadelphia, June the 20th, 1814. It was intend- 
ed that the Independence 74, should have gone off the same day, at 
Boston, but she stuck on the ways. She was go.t safely into the 
water on the 20th of July, however, and was the first two-decked 
ship that ever properly belonged to the American navy ; the Amer- 
ica 74, having been given to the King of France while yet on the 



124 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

stocks. The Java 44 soon followed, at Baltimore. Commodore 
Rodgers was appointed to the Guerriere, Commodore Baiubridge to 
the Independence, and Captain Perry to the Java. These were the 
only large vessels that were launched on the Atlantic during the war, 
though the keels of the Franklin 74, Washington 74, and Columbia 
44, were laid, and the two first ships were eventually got afloat ; the 
Franklin in 1815, and the Washington in the succeeding year. 

The new sloops of war began to go to sea in the course of this 
summer. The Frohc 18, Captain Bainbridge, had a short career, 
having been chased and captured, on the 20th of April, 1814, by the 
Orpheus 36, Captain Pigot, soon after she got out. There was no 
action, the Frolic having thrown most of her guns overboard in the 
chase. 

The Adams 28 had been cut down to a sloop of war and length- 
ened, at Washington, so as to mount 28 guns on one deck, under 
the law of 1812. She succeeded in passing the enemy's ships in 
Lynnhaven Bay, on the night of the 18th of January, 1814, under 
the command of Captain Morris, an officer whose career has been 
incidentally traced from the rank of midshipman up to that which he 
now held. The Adams ran oflf east, to get into the track of the Eng- 
lish East Indiamen, and she made several prizes of no great value. 
On the 25th of jMarch, however, she captured the Woodbridge, India- 
man, and while taking possession, the weather cleared up. Captain 
Morris found himself directly to leeward of twenty-five sail, with two 
vessels of war, one of which was a heavy ship, running down for 
him. The prize was necessarily abandoned, and the Adams was 
chased until the following day, when the enemy resumed his course. 
The Adams continued her cruise, going into Savannah, in April, for 
supplies. On the 5th of May, she sailed again, going oft' the Man- 
tilla Reef, in waiting for the Jamaica convoy, which, unfortunately, 
passed her in the night. The Adams, on ascertaining this fact, gave 
chase, and got in sight of the fleet, but was driven oft" by two vessels 
of war. By no artifice could Captain Morris cut a vessel out, how- 
ever, the ships sailing in the closest possible order, and the cruisers 
in company manifesting great vigilance. 

The Adams now stood to the northward and eastward, fiiUing in 
with much ice, and thick weather, in the latitude of New York. On 
the 3d of July she made the Irish coast, and on the 4th she chased 
two vessels into the mouth of the Shannon. The thick weather was 
much against the ship, and she ran more to the southward. In lat. 
49^, long. 10^, an enemy's frigate was made on the lee bow, and a 
hard chase ensued. By sunset the frigate was nearly within gun- 
shot, and the wind being light, the Adams cut away her anchors, and 
threw overboard two guns. In the course of the night it fell calm, 
and Captain Morris who had participated so largely in the escape of 
the Constitution, aot out his boats to tow. As the first lieutenant of 
the Adams (Mr. Wadsworth) had been the second lieutenant with 
Captain Hull, on that celebrated occasion, these officers employed 
their time so well, during the night, that when the day dawned, the 
enemy was near two leagues astern. This industry probably saved 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 125 

the ship, for the frigate proved to be verv fast, nor did she give up the 
chase until 10 the succeeding niglit, when the Adams aUered her 
course and escaped. 

Shortly after, the Adams was chased by two more frigates, one of 
which was on her lee bow, and the otlier on her beam. The last of 
these vessels continued just out of gun-shot, near twenty-four hours, 
when she was avoided, also, by changing the course in the night. 
The ship had now been near two months in a cold, fogiiy, damp at- 
mosphere, and the scurvy made its appearance on board. So many 
men were seized with this terrible disease, that Captain Morris 
deemed it prudent to go into port. At 4 A. M. on the 17th of Au- 
gust, in very thick weather, the Adams ran ashore on the Isle of 
Haute, but was got ofl' by lightening. It was found, however, that 
she made nine feet of water in an hour, and Captain Morris succeeded 
in getting her into the Penobscot, in Maine, as high up as Hampden, 
which is several miles above Castine. 

While the Adams lay ready to be hove out, with nothing in her, a 
strong expedition of the enen)y, consisting of troops and vessels of 
war, entered the river, and ascended as high as Hampden. A small 
force of militia was assembled, and a battery was mounted with the 
guns of the ship, in order to protect her; but the irregular troops giving 
way, and leaving the seamen and marines exposed in the rear, the 
first without muskets, nothing remained but to set tlie vessel on fire, 
and to make a retreat. All the service connected with the ship was 
performed in the most orderly and creditable manner, until a part of 
the country was reached where it was found impossible to subsist the 
men in a body, on account of the distance between the inhabitants, 
when the people were directed to break up into small parties, and to 
make the best of their way to Portland. It is a fact worthy of being 
recorded, that every man rejoined his commander, according to or- 
ders, though a fiitiguing march of two hundred miles was necessary 
to do so. Captain Morris showed great resources, in these trying 
circumstances; and Messrs. Wadsworth, Madison, Parker, and 
Beatty, the lieutenants of the ship, Mr. Watson, of the marine corps, 
and Mr. Rogers, the purser, were exceedingly active and useful. 
Indeed, all the oflicers and men ofthe Adams appear to have behaved 
more than commonly well. But one seaman and one marine fell 
into the enemy's hands. 

The ship had made many prizes during this cruise, most of which 
were destroyed. 

While the Adams was thus running the chances of chases and 
shipwreck, the Wasp 18, Captain Blakely, sailed from Portsmouth, 
N. H., on a cruise. This was one ofthe new sloops of war already 
mentioned, and the name of the favourite vessel, captured by the 
Poictiers, had been given to her. A letter from Captain Blakely 
announced that he was in the ofiing, on the first of May, 1814, with 
a fine breeze at N. W. He ran ofi" the coast without molestation, 
and soon appeared near the chops ofthe English Channel, where he 
beiran to repeat the ravages caused by the Argus. The position of 
the ship now exacted the utmost vigilance, as she was in the very 

VOL. II. 8 



126 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

track of tlie enemy. At a quarter past 4 A. M. on tlie28lh of June, 
1814, the Wasp, then cruising in lat. 48^ 36' N., lon<r. 11° 15' W., 
made two sail, a little forward of the lee beam. The weather was 
fine, the wind light, and the water exceedingly smooth for that sea. 
After keeping away in chase, another stranger was discovered on 
the weather beam, when the ship was immediately brought by the 
wind, in order to close with her, it being obviously expedient for the 
American vessel to select the antagonist that had the most weatherly 
position. At 10 the chase showed English colours, and began to 
make signals. At noon her signals were repeated, and she tired a 
gun. The Wasp did not go to quarters until 15 minutes past 1 ; 
and soon after, believing he could weather the chase. Captain Blakely 
tacked. The stranger also tacked, however, and stood off, no doubt 
to preserve the weather g'-'ige. The Was]) now showed her ensign, 
and fired a gun to windward. The enemy, a large man-of-^var brig, 
gallantly answered this defiance. The Wasp immediately set her 
light canvass to close, when, at 33 minutes past 2, the enemy tacked, 
and began to draw near. The American now took in her light sails, 
and tacked inker turn; the English vessel still maintaining her 
weatherly position, and making sail to close. 

At 17 minutes past 3, the enemy was on the weather quarter of the 
Wasp, distant about sixty yards, when he fired his shifting-gun, a 
twelve-pound carronade mounted on a topgallant forecastle. Two 
minutes later he fired again ; and the discharges were repeated until 
the jjun had been deliberately fired five times into the Wasp, at that 
short distance, and in unusually smooth water. All this time the 
Wasp could not bring a gun to bear; and finding that the enemy 
drew ahead very slowly. Captain Blakely put his helm down, and 
made a half-board, firing from aft forward, as the guns bore. He 
now hauled up the mainsail, and the two ships being necessarily very 
near, every shot told. But the fire of the Wasp was too heavy to be 
borne, and the brig ran her aboard, on her starboard quarter, at 40 
minutes past 3, her larboard bow coming foul. The English now 
made several trials to enter the Wasp, led by their commander in 
person, but were repulsed with steadiness and without confusion. 
Two or three desperate eftorts were repeated, but with the same want 
of success, when, at 44 minutes past 3, Captain Blakely gave the 
order in turn, to goon board the Englishman, and in one minute his 
flag was lowered. On the part of the enemy, this action lasted 28 
minutes; on the part of the Wasp, 10 minutes, including the time 
employed in boarding. 

The prize was his Britannic Majesty's sloop of war Reindeer 18, 
Captain Manners. The Reindeerwas an ordinary thirty-two-pounder 
brig, but, like the Peacock, her armament, when taken, was of twenty- 
four-pound carronades. She mounted IS guns, besides the shifting 
carronade, and had a complement on board of IIS souls. Her loss 
was25 killed, and 42 wounded ; 10 of the latter dangerously. Among 
the slain was Captain Manners ; and the first lieutenant and master 
were wounded. The Wasp had 5 men killed, and 22 wounded. 
Two midshipmen, both of whom subsequently died, were among the 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 127 

latter. The Reindeer was literally cut to pieces, in a line with her 
ports ; her upper works, boats and spare spars being one entire wreck. 
A breeze springing- up next day, her foremast fell. The Wasp was 
hulled six times, and she was filled with grape. The principal loss 
she sustained in men, however, was in repelling the attempt to board. 

It is difficult to say which vessel behaved the best in this short but 
gallant combat. The officers and people of the AVasp discovered 
the utmost steadiness, a cool activity, and an admirable discipline. 
For eleven minutes they bore the fire of a twelve-pounder, that was 
discharging round and grape, at a distance varying from 00 to 30 
yards, wnth a subordination and quiet that could not possibly be sur- 
passed ; and when it did commence, their own fire was terrible. 
The attempts to carry their ship were repulsed with ease and cool- 
ness, and when the order to go on board the enemy was received, it 
was obeyed with decision and promptitude. Throughout the whole 
affiiir, the ship was conspicuous for the qualities that most denote a 
perfect man-of-war, and the results of hereflbrts were in proportion. 
It is believed, notwithstanding, that this ship had an unusual number 
of men on board of her, who were now at sea for the first time. 

On the other hand, the attack of the Reindeer has usually been con- 
sidered the most creditable to the enemy of any that occurred in this 
war. It is scarcely possible that the English could have mistaken a 
ship with the air and style of the Wasp for a privateer ; and Captain 
Manners, in engaging her, like Captain Allen, of the Argus, must 
have been conscious thai he was going into action with a vessel 
heavier than his own. The mode in which he approached was ex- 
ceedingly officer-like ; and when he discovered the hopelessness of 
contending against the fire to which he found himself so suddenly 
and unexpectedly exposed, the decision and gallantry with which he 
attempted to retrieve the day by boarding, was of the highest order 
of military and personal merit. It is understood the enemy had en- 
deavoured to persuade himself that the Chesapeake had been cap- 
tured by his superior prowess in hand to hand conflicts; a delusion 
so general in Great Britain, as has been already stated, that it has 
frequently led their officers into serious disasters in America ; and it 
is possible that the commander of the Reindeer may have believed 
his crew, which is said to have been better than common, able to 
carry the Wasp in this manner. The result showed the diflerence 
between a crew that was well commanded, and one that had no lead- 
ers, but in no degree detracts from the merit of the English officer, 
whose personal deportment in this affiiir, is described as having been 
worthy of all jiraise.* 

Captain Blakely put a portion of his wounded prisoners on board 
a neutral, and proceeded himself to I'Orient, where he arrived on the 
Stli of July, with the remainder. The prize was burned, on account 
of the great danger of recapture. 

* Captain Manners received throe wounds before ihe attempt to board, one shot having 
nearly carried away the calves of both legs. In endeavouring to board, he sprang into 
the rigging of his own vessel, when he was struck on the upper part of the head by two 
mnsket-balls, which pas.sed through to the chin. Flourishing his sword, he fell dead on 
his own deck. 



128 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814, 

? L . 

After a detention in port until the 27th of August, the Wasp sailed 
on another cruise. Two prizes were made when a few days out ; 
and on the 1st of September she cut a vessel loaded with guns and 
military stores, out of a convoy often sail, that was under the care 
of the Armada 74; but was chased off by the enemy, in an attempt 
to seize another. On the evening of the same day, while running 
free, four sail were seen, nearly at the same time, of which two were 
on the larboard, and two on the starboard bow. The latter being 
farthest to windward, the Wasp hauled up for the most weatherly 
of them. At 7 P. M. the chase began to make signals, with flags, 
lanterns, rockets, and guns. The Wasp disregarded all, but kept 
steadily approaching. At 20 minutes past 9, she had the enemy on 
her lee bow, within hail, and a gun was fired into him. The shot 
was returned, when Captain Blakely put his helm up, and passed 
to leeward, under an apprehension that the enemy might attempt 
to escape, for it was blowing fresh, and the ship was running- 
ten knots at the moment. This was easily efl'ected, the enemy being 
still in doubt as to the character of the Wasp, both vessels hailing. As 
soon as she had got the desired position, however, the American ship 
poiu-ed in a broadside, and a warm engagement commenced at 29 
minutes past 9. The firing was close and severe, though the com- 
bat had the usual embarrassments of a night action. By 10 o'clock, 
notwithstanding the darkness and the swell that was on at the time, 
the fire of the enemy had ceased, and Captain Blakely hailed to 
ascertain if he had surrendered. Receiving no answer, and a few 
guns being fired on board the English vessel, the Wasp poured in a 
fresh broadside, but at 12 minutes past 10, perceiving that the enemy 
did not fire any longer, he was again hailed, with a demand to know 
if he had surrendered. The answer was in the affirmative, and the 
Was[) lowered a boat to take possession. Before the latter struck 
the water, hovrever, the smoke having blown away, another vesse 
was seen astern, coming up fiist, when the boat was run up again, 
the people were sent to their guns, which had been secured, and the 
Waso was brought under command, in readiness to receive this 
second antagonist. At 36 minutes past 10, two more sail were seen 
astern, and it became necessary to abandon the prize. 

The helm of the Wasp was now put up, and the ship ran oft' dead 
before the wind, in order to reeve new braces, and in the hope of 
drawing the nearest vessel farther from her consoi'ts. This vessel 
continued the chase, until she got quite near the Wasp, when she 
hauled her wind across the stern of the latter, delivered a broadside, 
and made stretches to rejoin the captured vessel, which, by this time, 
was firing guns of distress. It would have been easy for the second 
vessel to run alongside of the Was]), but the urgent situation of her 
consort, probably, prevented the step. 

2\s the Wasp left her prize so suddenly, she had no means of 
learning her name or loss. She had herself but two men killed, and 
one wounded, the latter by ii wad ; a circumstance that proves the 
closeness of the combat. She was hulled four times, had a good 
many grape in her, and was much cut up aloft. All that Captain 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 229 

Blakely could state concerning his enemy, was his impression that 
she was one of the kiri^est brigs in the British navy. The four shot 
that hulled the Wasp, weiyhed each just 3:2 pounds. She had many 
hands in her tops, and otherwise appeared to be strongly manned.* 

It is now known that the vessel captured by the Wasp, was the 
Avon 18, Captain Arbuthnot. The brig that followed, the Wasp, 
and fired into her, was the Castilian 18, and one of the other vessels 
in sight was also a cruiser. The Avon was so much injured that 
she sunk, and it was with great difficulty that the other vessel saved 
her people. By some accounts, indeed, a few of the wounded were 
lost. The loss of men on board the Avon is not accurately known, 
the statements varying from 30 to 59. The vessel was cut up in an 
extraordinary manner. She is believed to have mounted 18 thirty- 
two-pound carronades, with the usual chase guns, and to have had 
a crew of 120 men in her. 

Captain Blakley's conduct on this occasion, had all the merit 
shown in the previous action, with the additional claim of engaging 
an enemy under circumstances which led him to believe that her 
consorts were in his immediate vicinity. The steady officer-like man- 
ner in which the Avon was destroyed, and the coolness with which he 
prepared to engage the Castilian, within ten minutes after his first 
antagonist had struck, are the best eulogiums on this officer's char- 
acter and spirit, as well as on the sciiool in which he had been trained. 

The action between the Wasp and the Avon occurred on the 1st 
of September, 1814, (sea-time,) in lat. 47° 30', N., long. 11° W. 
September the l-2th, in lat. 38° 2', N., and long. 14° .58', W., the 
former ship took the brisx Three J?rothers, and scuttled her. Septem- 
ber Uth, in lat. 37^ 22', N., long. 14^ 33', W., ^he took the brig Bac- 
chus, and scuttled her. September the 21st, in lat. 33'^ 12', N., long. 
LP 56', W., she took the brig Atalanta 8, with 19 men. As this was 
a valuable prize, Mr. Geisinger, one of the midshipmen of the Wasp, 
was put on board her, and she was sent to America. The Atalanta 
arrived safely at Savannah, Nov. 4th, and brought the last direct 
intelligence that was ever received from the regretted Blakely and 
the Wasp. Various accounts have been given of the manner in which 
she was probably lost, but nothing that can be deemed authentic has 
ever been ascertained. It will be seen that the ship had got as far 
south as the Azores, when Mr. Geisinger left her, and she was, in fact, 
cruising between those islands and the Straits of Gibraltar when 
Captain Blakely wrote his last letter. There is a rumour that an 
Enulish frigate went into Cadiz, much crippled, and with a very se- 
vere loss in men, about this time, and that she reported her injuries to 
have been received in an engagement with a heavy American cor- 
vette, the latter disappearing so suddenly, in the night, that it was 

* Captain Blakely adds that the enemy's shot weisilied one pound and three- qtiartera 
more than any on board the Wasp. This would make the 32 pound shot of the Wasp 
weiah about 30 pounds, and was probably near the proportion that all the American shot 
of that day bore to their nominal weight. It follows, that in this action the metal of the 
tmcmy was about two pounds heavier to the ,c:un thau that of the Wasp, while in the 
action wiih the Reindeer, the Wasp'smetal was only about six pounds heavier lo the 
f^un, than that of her enemy. In both these cases, the long guns are excepted; the 
American .ship probably carrying heavier metal forward than the English. 



130 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

thought she had sunk. This story can be traced to no authentic 
source. By another account, the ship had been wrecked on the 
African coast, and for a short time, it was believed that her people were 
prisoners among the Arabs. The probability is, that the Wasp foun- 
dered either in a gale, or in a squall, though she may have been lost 
by any of the other accidents of the ocean. A man-of-war, in par- 
ticular, always runs a certain risk from her magazine, and as ships 
are known to have been blown up in port, it is probable that some 
which suddenly disappear are blown up at sea. 

An incident occurred a few years alter the last direct intelligence 
was received from this gallant ship, that suddenly and keenly revived 
tlie interests of the public, which had begun to settle into a saddened 
sympathy with the friends of those who had perished, in her fate. 
It will be remembered that Acting Lieutenant M'Rnight, and Mr. 
Lyman, a master's mate, both of the Essex, had been exchanged by 
Captain Hillyar, and taken to Rio de Janeiro, in the Phoebe, with a 
view to make certain affidavits necessary to the condemnation of the 
American frigate. These gentlemen, after remaining some time in 
Brazil, took passage in a Swedish brig bound to England, as the only 
means of getting home. A long time passing without any intelligence 
from Mr. M'Knight and his companion, inquiries were set on foot, 
which terminated in ascertaining this fact, and, subsequently, in 
finding the master of the Swedish brig, who proved by his log-book 
and other documents, that he had fallen in with the Wasp 18, Cap- 
tain Blakely, when his two passengers seized the occasion to put 
themselves under the flag.* 

* Extract from, the Jrnirnal kept on hoard the Siredifih hrig Adonis, during a voyage 
from Rio de Janeiro tou-ards Falmouth, in the year 1814. 

"August 23. — Left Rio de Janeiro; Stephen Decatur M'Knight, and James Lyman, 
passengers for England. 

" October 9th.— In lat. 18deg. 35min. N., long. 30deg. lOmin. W.. sea account, at 8 
o'clock in the morning, discovered a strange sail giving chase to us. and fireti .several guns ; 
she gaining very fast. At half past 10 o clock hove to. and ■was boarded by an officer 
dressed in an English doctor's uniform, the vessel also hoisted an English en.sign. The 
officer proceeded to examine my ship's papers, &c. iScc, likewise the letter-bags, and 
took from one of them a letter to the victualling-office, London. Finding 1 had two 
American officers as passengers, he immediately left the ship, and went on board the 
sloop of war ; he shortly after returned, took the American gentlemen with him, and went 
a second time on board the .^loop. In about half an hour, he returned again with Messrs. 
M'Knight and Lyman, aVid they informed me that the vessel was the United States sloop 
of war the Wasp, commanded by Captain Blakely, or Blake, last from France, where 
she had refitted ; had lately sunk the Reindeer, English sloop of 'A'ar, and another vesseJ 
■which sunk without their being able to save a single person, or learn the vessel's name, — 
that Messrs. M'Knight and Lyman had now determined to leave me. and co on board the 
Wasp — paid mo their passage in dollars, at 5.s. 9i^., and having taken their lu!rcac:e on 
board the Wasp, they made sail to the southward. Shortly after they had left, I found 
that Lieutenant M'Knight had left his writing desk behind : and I immediately made 
signal for the Wasp to return, and stood towards her; they, observing my signal, stood 
back, came alongside, and sent their boat on board for the \vriting desk ; after which they 
sent me a log-line and some other presents, and made all sail in a direction for the line ; 
and I liave reason to suppose for the convoy that i)assed on Thursday previous." 

This is the last intelligence from the Wasp. It is sixteen days later than that broua^bt 
in by the prize, and places iho shiji about 000 miles farther .south, and about 600 miles 
farther west, than she was when Mr. Gtisinger left her. There is little doubt thai Cap- 
tain Blakely intended to run down towards the Spanish main, and to pass through the 
West Indies in order to go into a .southern port, according to his orders. There is only 
one other rumour in reference to this shi]), that has any appcanmce of probability. It is 
said that two English frigates chased an American sloop of war off the southern coast, 
about the time llie Wasp ought to have aiTived, and that the three ships were struck wilb 



1814.] NAVAL IIISTOllY. . 131 

The Peacock IS, Captain Warrington, went to sea from New 
York, in March, 1814, ^ind proceeded to the sonthward, as fur as the 
Great Isaacs, cruisino- in that vicinity and along- the Florida shore, 
to Cape CarnaveraL ""On the 29th of April, in lat. 27° 47', N. k)ng. 
80^ 9' W. three sail were made to windward, under convoy of a 
large brig of war. The merchantmen hauled up to E. N. E., and 
the sloop of war edged away for the iVmerican ship, t'he two ves- 
sels were soon alongside of each other, when a close action com- 
menced. The Peacock received two thirty-two-pound shot in the 
quarter of her fore-yard, from the first broadside of the enemy, which 
rendered the head-sails nearly useless. This injury compelled tlie 
Peacock to fight running large, and prevented much manctuvring, 
the combat being efl'ectually decided by gunnery. At the end of 42 
minutes the enemy struck, and possession was taken of him. 

The prize was H. B. M. brig Epervier 18, Captain Wales. The 
Epervier was extensively injured, having received no less than 45 
shot in her hull, and had 22 men killed and wounded. Her main- 
topmast was over the side, her main boom was shot away, her fore- 
mast tottering, her bowsprit badiv wounded, standing rigoing much 
cut, and she had five feet water in her hold. The Peacock received 
very little injury, that done the fore-yard being the principal, while 
her hull escaped almost entirely, not a round shot touchino; it. No 
person was killed, and only two men were wounded. 

The Peacock was a heavier vessel than the Epervier, while, as 
usual, the disparity in the loss was infinitely greater than that in the 
force. The metal was nominally the same; but, if the shot of the 
Peacock were as short of weight as those of the Wasp are known to 
have been, she threw at a broadside only twenty pounds of metal 
more than her antagonist. The Epervier mounted 18 thirty-two- 
pound carronades, and it would seem had no chase guns ; her crew 
consisted of 128 men. On board this vessel were found $118,000 
in specie. 

In one hour after llie retreat from quarters was beat, the Peacock 
had her fore-yard fished, and, in all resj^ects, was ready again to 

a lipavy squall, in which the sloop of war suddenly disappeared. There is nothing sur- 
pri^insj in a vessel of that size being: capsized in a squall, especially when carrying sail 
hard, to escape enemies, but it would be very extraordinary if no traces of her sliould be 
found floating on the ocean, or drifted ashore. The rumour, like that of the action with 
the frigate, has probably no foundation. 

Captain Blakely was a citizen of North Carolina. He received the portion of his edu- 
cation that was obtained on shore, in the University of his own state, and he entered the 
navy February .5th, 1800. He was in the Mediterranean under Preble, and saw the 
service usual to the officers of his rank. His first command was the Enterprise 14, and 
his second anil last, the vessel in which he perished. He was married, and left an only 
child, a dau.hlei-, whom the legislature of North Carolina asked permission to educate. 
He lived to the age of 33. This gentleman enjoyed a high reputation in the sei'vice, which 
his short career, as a coramnnder, fully justified. There is little doubt, had he survived, 
that Captain Blakely would have risen to the highest consideration in his profession. As 
it was. few olficers have left better names behind them. 

Onboard the Wasp, there perished with Captain Blakely, Lieutenants Reilly, Tillin- 
ghast, and Baury. Messrs. Reilly and Bauryhad been midshipmen in the Constitution 
when she took the Guerriere and the .lava, and, after contending with the enemy success- 
fully in four combats, it was their hard fate to die in the manner conjectured. Mr. Til- 
linghast was very active in the capture of the Boxer, and was an excellent officer. The 
present Captain Geisingerwas the only officer saved from the Wasp. 



132 ' NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 



engage. The Epervier struck about 11 A. M., and by sunset she 
was in a condition to carry sail. It was only by the greatest exer- 
tions, liowever, that she was, at first, kept from sinking. 

Mr. J. B. Nicholson, the first lieutenant of the Peacock, was put 
in charge of the prize, with directions to make the best of his way to 
Savannah. The southern coast was then much infested by the en- 
emy, and, as Captain Warrington knew that she was liable to be 
^ brought to action at any moment, he determined to convoy his prize 
^ into port. On the evening of the 29th of April, or the day of ihe 
capture, the vessels made sail, and the next afternoon they were 
abreast of Amelia Island, when two frigates were discovered at the 
northward, and to leeward. At Mr. Nicholson's request. Captain 
Warrington now took all the prize crew from the Epervier but that 
gentleman and sixteen officers and men, intending to send the prize 
into St. Mary's, and to haul to the southward with the Peacock, to 
lead the enemy off the coast. This plan succeeded, the Peacock 
getting rid of the frigate that chased her the next day. The Epervier, 
while subsequently running along the coast, on her way to Savannah, 
however, fell in with the other frigate, and keeping close in, in shoal 
water, the wind being light, the enemy manned his boats, and sent 
them in chase. There was a moment when the prize was in great 
danoer of falling into the hands of her pursuers, for the boars got quite 
near, in her wake. In this critical situation Mr. Nicholson had re- 
course to a stratagem to keep them off. He used the trumpet as if 
full of men, and when the boats were the nearest, lie issued an order, 
in a very loud voice, to make a yaw, in order to fire a broadside. 
This appearance of a readiness to engage intimidated the enemy, 
who abandoned his attempt at a moment when he might have carried 
the Epervier with little or no loss. On the 1st of May the brig arrived 
safely at Savannah, and, on the 4th, the Peacock came in also. Mr. 
Nicholson's steadiness and ingenuity were much applauded. 

Shortly after the Peacock sailed on a cruise for the enemy's seas, 
the Bay of Biscay, the coast of Portugal, and among the Islands, 
constantly changing her position to elude the English squadrons. 
After passing over some of the best cruising ground in the Atlantic, 
the ship returned to New York, at the end of October, without hav- 
ing fallen in with an enemy of a force proper for her to engage. She 
captured, however, 14 sail of merchantmen. 

The President 44, continued to cruise under the orders of Com- 
modore Rodgers, and the Congress 38, under those of Captain Smith, 
with a similar want of success, when the merits of their commanders 
were considered. These two fine frigates traversed the Northern 
Atlantic, in a variety of directions, in company and singly, and yet it 
was never the good fortune of either to fall in with an enemy, that 
could be brought to action. The latter ship even went south of the 
equator, and one of her cruises extended to eight months, but her 
luck did not vary. 

In one of his cruises Commodore Rodgers captured an enemy's 
man-of-war schooner, called the Highflyer, drawing her under his 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 133 

guns by an artifice, and this was the only English man-of-war that he 
took (liirin»- his comniaod of this ship. 

Early in February, 1814, the President returned from a cruise of 
75 days, a brief account of which will show the manner in which this 
ship souiiht opportunities of meeting the enemy, as well as of that in 
whicii she was foiled. She sailed from Providence in Deccndier, 
1813, and ran off to the southward and eastward, into Ion o. 38^ W., 
lat 18^ N. Here she chased two large ships, under the im]»ression 
that one was an Indiaman and the other a frigate, but both proved to 
be frigates, and tlie President was chased in her turn. On this occa- 
sion, the nearest vessel threw a shot over the American ship, her 
consort being close astern. Commodore Rodgers now went off 
Barbadoes, and after cruisinsf some time for a convoy, he ran down 
among the Islands throuiih the Mona passage, and towards the con- 
tinent, striking soundings oft' St. Augustine. From this point the 
ship proceeded north, keeping as near the coast as the water would 
allow, until she got oft" Charleston. Remaining all day off the bar, 
Commodore Rodgers continued standinjr to the northward, following 
the coast as far as Sandy Hook. As this was completely running 
the gauntlet among the enemy, several cruisers were seen, but 
always in squadron, or under circumstances that prevented an 
enoaoement. 



CHAPTER XV. 



Capt. Barney's flotilla in the Clicsapeako — Skirmishes with theencmy — Advance of the 
enemy upon Washington City — Defensive movements — Captains Barney and Miller 
wounded and taken prisoners — Vessels destroyed, and city taken — Attack on Balti- 
more — Death of Gen. Ross — Retreat of the enemy — Failure of the attack by water — 
Exchange of Capt. Barney — Sketch of his life. 

The general peace that, owing to the downfall of Napoleon, so 
suddenly took place in Europe, aftbrded England an opportunity of 
sending large reinforcements in ships and troops to America. Regi- 
ments that had entered France from Spain, were embarked in the 
Loire, with that object ; and a land force of more than 30,000 men 
was soon collected in the interior, or on the American coast. The 
ships, also, were much increased in number; and, it would seem, 
that there was a moment when some in England wei'e flattered with 
the belief of being able to dictate such terms to the republic, as would 
even reduce its territory, if they did not aflfect its independence. In 
carrying on the war, two separate plans appear to have been adopted. 
One aimed at conquest; the other at harrassin^ the coast, and at 
inflicting the injuries that characterise a partisan warfare. 

In furtherance of the latter intention, a considerable force in ships 
and troops assembled in the waters of the Chesapeake, early in the 



V 



134 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

summer, when the enemy attempted expeditions of greater impor- 
tance, and which were more creditable to his arms, than many in 
which he had been previously engaged against small, exposed, and 
defenceless villages. The warfare of 1813 had induced the govern- 
ment to equip a stronger force in the Chesapeake, than it had ori- 
ginally possessed, and Captain Joshua Barney, the officer whose 
name has already been mentioned with dsitinction, as the captor of 
the General Monk, was placed at its head. The vessels of the flotilla 
under the orders of Captain Barney, were principally barges carry- 
ing heavy guns, though there were a few galleys, and a schooner 
or two. 

It would exceed the limits of a work of this nature, to enter into a 
minute I'elation of all the skirmishes to which the predatory warfare 
of the English, in the Chesapeake, gave rise ; but it is due to the offi- 
cers and men employed against them, to furnish an outline of their 
services. On various occasions, parties from the ships had conflicts 
with the detached militia, or armed citizens, who were frequently 
successful. Although it is a little anticipating events, it may be 
mentioned here, that in one of these skirmishes. Captain Sir Peter 
Parker, of the Menelaus, was killed, and his party driven ofl' to its 
ship. In several other instances, captures were made of boats and 
their crews; the people of the country frequently displaying a cool- 
ness and gallantry that were worthy of trained soldiers. On the 
whole, however, the vast superiority of the enemy in numbers, and 
his ability to choose his time and place of attack, gave the Enijlish 
the advantage, and their success was usually in proportion. 

The presence of Captain Barney's flotilla compelled the enemy to 
be more guarded, and his small vessels became cautious about ap- 
proachino- the shallow waters in calms, or in light winds. On the 1st 
of June, this active and bold officer left the Patuxent with the Scor- 
pion, two gun-boats, and several large barges, in chase of two 
schooners. He was closing fast, by means of sweeps, when a large 
ship was discovered to the southward. Just at this moment the wind 
shifted, bringing the enemy to windward, blowing fresh and becom- 
ing squally. Signal was made for the flotilla to return to the Patux- 
ent, as the weather was particidarly unfavourable for that description 
of force, and the ship proved to be a two-decker. On re-entering the 
river, the wind came ahead, when the gun-boats beiran to sweep up 
under the weather shore. One of the latter being in some danger, 
Captain Barney anchored with the Scorpion and the other boats, and 
opened a fire, which immediately drove the enemy's schooners out 
of the river. On this occasion, the English pushed a barge in front 
which began to throw Congreve rockets. By this essay, it was found 
that the rockets could be thrown farther than shot, but that they 
could not be directed with any certainly. The ship of the line 
anchored at the mouth of the Patuxent; the enemy's barges kept 
hovering about it, and the American flotilla was anchored about three 
miles within the river. 

Between the 4rh and 8tli oi" June, the enemy was joined bv a ras^e 
and a sloop of war, when Captain Barney removed his flotilla up 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 135 



the river, to the mouth of St. Leonard's creek. On the morning of 
the Sth the British were seen coming up the river, the wind being 
fair, with a ship, a l)rig, two schooners, and fifteen barges, which 
induced Cajitain Barney to move up the St. Leonard's about two 
miles, when he anchored in a Vine abreast, and prepared to receive 
an attack. At 8 A. M. the sliip, brig, and schooners anchored at 
the mouth of the creek, and tlie barges entered it, with the rocket- 
boat in advance. 

Captain Barney now left tlie Scorpion and the two gun-boats at 
anchor, and got his barges, 13 in number, under way, when tlie en- 
emy retreated towards tlieir vessels outside. In the afternoon, the 
same manoeuvre was repeated, the enemy throwing a few rockets 
without effect. 

On the afternoon of the 9th, the ship of the line having sent up a 
party of men, the enemy entered the creek again, having 20 barges, 
but after a sharp skirmish, retired. The object of these demonstra- 
tions was probably to induce the Americans to burn their vessels, or 
to venture out within reach of the guns of the ships, but the latter 
were commanded by an officer much too experienced and steady to 
be forced into either measure without sufficient reason. On the 1 1 th, 
a still more serious attempt was made, with 21 barges, having the 
two schooners in tow. Captain Barney met them again, and, after 
a sharper encounter than before, drove them down u])on their larger 
vessels. On this occasion, the pursuit was continued, until the 
ras^e, which, by this time, had ascended the Patuxent, and the brig, 
opened a fire on the Americans. In this affair, the English are 
thought to have suffered materially, especially one of the schooners. 
A shot also struck the rocket-boat. 

Some small works were now thrown up on the shore, to protect the 
American flotilla, and the blockade continued. In the mean time, 
Captain Miller, of the marine corps, joined the flotilla, and a consid- 
erable force of militia was collected under Colonel Wadsworth, of 
the ordinance service. The enemy had also brought a frigate, in 
addition to the rasee, off the mouth of the creek. The largest of 
these vessels was believed to be the Severn, and the smallest the Nar- 
cissus 32. On the 26th, an attemjit was made by the united force 
of the Americans to raise the blockade. The cannonade was close, 
for the species of force employed, and it lasted two hours, when the 
Severn cut, and was run on a sand bank to prevent her sinking.* It 
is said that a raking shot ripped a plank from her bow, and placed 
her in imminent danger. Shortly after, in company with the Nar- 
cissus, she dropped down the river, and went into the bay. In this 
handsome affair, the flotilla lost 13 men in killed and wounded ; but 
it eftectually raised the blockade, and induced the enemy to be more 
cautious. 

The portion of the flotilla that was in the Patuxent, remained in 
that river until the middle of August, when the enemy commenced 
that series of movements, which terminated in his advance upon 

*By some accounts this sliip ■was ibe Loire. 



136 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 



Washington. On the 16th, Captain Barney received iiiteliigence 
that the British were comin<>; up the Patuxent in force, when he sent 
an express to the navy department for instructions. The answer 
was to hind the men, and join tlie army that was hurriedly assembhng 
for the defence of the coast, under General Winder, and, if }3ressed, 
to hurn the flotilhi. 

On the2Ist, tlie news was received that the enemy had landed a 
force of four or five thousand men at Benedict, and that he was 
marchinu^ in the direction of tlie capital. Captain Barney immedi- 
ately landed 400 of his party, leaving the vessels in charge of Mr. 
Frazier, with orders to set fire to them, if attacked, and to join the 
main body, with as little delay as possible. The next day this order 
was executed, a strong detachment of seamen and marines approach- 
ing the flotilla to attack it. 

On the •22d, Captain Barney joined the assemblage of armed citi- 
zens, that was called an army, at the Wood-Yard. The next day 
he marched into Washington, and took up his quarters in the marine 
barracks. 

After a good deal of uncertainty concernino' the movements of the 
enemy, it was understood he was marching directly on Washinofon, 
and that it was intended to fight him at Bladensburgh. The flotilla- 
men and marines left the Yard on the morning of the 24th, and they 
arrived at the battle-ground on a trot, and were immediately drawn 
up about a mile to the west of Bladensburgh, holding the centre of 
General Winder's position. After a short skirmish in front, where 
the enemy suffered severely in crossing a bridge, the militia fell back, 
and the British columns appeared, following the line of the public 
road. The entire force of the flotilla-men and marines, was about 
500 men ; and they had two ei<ihteens, and three twelve-pounders, 
ship's guns, mounted on travelling carriasres. Captain Barney took 
command of the artillery in person, while Captain Miller had the 
disposition of the remainder of the two parties, who were armed as 
infintry. The marines, 78 men in all, formed a line immediately on 
the right of the guns, while the seamen, 370 men, were drawn up a 
little in their rear, and on the right flank of the marines, on oronnd 
that permitted them to fire over the heads of the latter. Although 
the troops that were f illino; back did not halt. Captain Barney held 
his position, and as soon as the enemy began to throw rockets, he 
opened on him with a sharp discharge of round and grape. The 
column was stajigered, and it immediately gave ground. A second 
attempt to advance was reptdsed in the same manner, when the en- 
emy, who, as yet, had been able to look down resistance by his dis- 
cipline, advancing steadily in column, was obliged to make an oblinue 
movement to his left, into some open fields, and to display. Here 
he threw out a briirade of light troops, in open order, and advanced 
in beautifid style, upon the command of Captain Barney, while the 
head of a strong column was kept in reserve in a copse in its rear. 
Captain Miller, with the marines, and that portion of the seamen who 
acted as infantry, met the charge in the most steady and gallant man- 
ner and after a short conflict, drove the British light troops back 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 137 

upon their supporting column. In this conflict the English com- 
manding officer, in advance, Colonel Tliornton, with his second and 
third in rank, Lieutenant Colonel Wood, and Mnjor Brown, were all 
wounded, and jeft on the tield. The marines and seamen manifested 
the utmost steadiness, though it was afterwards ascertained that the 
light troops hrought up in their front, amounted to about GOO men. 

There can be no question, that a couple of regular regiments 
would now have given the Americans tlie da^^ but no troops remain 
ed in line, except the party under Captain Barney, and two detach 
ments on his right, that were well posted. Having been so roughly 
handled, the enemy made no attempt to advance directly in front of 
the seamen and marines, but, after forcing the troops on their righ 
from the field, by a demonstration in that direction, they prepared to 
turn the rear of Captain Barney, in order to surround him. While 
these movements were going on in front, a party of light troo])s had 
been thrown out on the enemy's right, and the militia having aban- 
doned the ground, they were also beginning to close upon the Amer- 
icans that stood. By this time, Captain Barney, Captain Miller, and 
several other officers were wounded; and victoiy being impossible, 
against odds so great, an order was given to commence a retreat. 
The defence had been too obstinate to admit of carrying off the liu'is, 
which were necessarily abandoned. All the men retired, with the 
exception of the badly wounded ; among the latter, however, were 
Captain Barney and Captain Miller, who both fell into the enemy's 
hands. The loss of the latter in front of the seamen and marines, 
on this occasion, was near 300 men, in killed and wounded. Of 
the marines, nearly one-third were among the casualties ; and the 
flotilla-men suffered considerably, though in a smaller proportion. 

The people of the flotilla, under the orders of Captain Barney, 
and the marines, were justly applauded for their excellent conduct 
on this occasion. No ti'oops could have stood better ; and the fire 
of both artillery and musketry has been described as to the last de- 
gree severe. Captain Barney himself, and Captain Miller, of the 
marine corps, in particular, gained much additional reputation ; and 
their conspicuous gallantry caused a deep and general regret, that 
their efforts could not have been sustained by the rest of the army. 

As the enemy took possession of Washington, a perfectly defence- 
less straggling town of some eight or nine thousand inhabitants, that 
evening, and a considerable force in ships was ascendino- the Poto- 
mac, it was thought necessary to destroy the jjublic property at the 
navy yard. At that time, a frigate, of the first class, called the Co- 
lumbia^ was on the stocks, and the Argus 18, and Lynx 12, had not 
long been launched. A small quantity of stores and ammunition 
had been removed, but on the night of the 34th, fire was communi- 
cated to the remainder. It is difficult to say why the vessels afloat 
were not scuttled, a measure that would have allowed of their being 
raised again, as it would have been impossible for the enemy to injure 
ships in that state, and much less to remove them. Indeed the ex- 
pediency of setting fire to anything has been questioned, since the 
enemy could not have done more. It is, however, just to remember, 



138 NAVAL HISTORY-. [1814. 

that the sudden retreat of the English could not have been foreseen, 
and that they had a commanding naval force in the Potomac. The 
loss in vessels was not great ; the Columbia 44, on the stocks, and 
the Argus IS, being the only two destroyed that wete of any value. 
The Lynx escaped ; and it would seem that the enemy was in too 
great a hurry to do her any injury. On this occasion, the Boston 28 
was burned, though the ship was condemned. The hulk of the New 
York 36 escaped ; but all the naval stores were consumed. 

It is wortliy of remark, that this, and the instance in which the 
Adams was burned in the Penobscot, were the only cases in the war, 
in which the enemy, notwithstanding his numerous descents, was 
ever able to destroy any public cBuiser by means of his troops. In 
this respect, the difference between the war of 1812 and that of 1775, 
is strikingly apparent. During the former contest, indeed, the ene- 
my succeeded in no assault on any place of size, although, encour- 
aged by his success at AVashington, an attempt was shortly after 
made on Baltimore. 

To aid in resisting these descents which were believed, at the time, 
to be made by a force greatly exceeding that Avhich was actually em- 
ployed, the officers and men of the navy, who were in the vicinity, 
were collected on the shores of the Chesapeake. Commodore 
Rodgers, with the crew of the Guerriere 44, then nearly ready for 
sea, was withdrawn from Philadeliihia ; Captain Perry, of the Java 
44, which ship was fitting at Baltimore, and Captain Porter, with 
other gentlemen of the service, had been actively employed on the 
banks of the Potomac, in endeavouring to intercept the return of the 
British ships that had ascended to Alexandria ; a duty that could not 
be effected, however, for want of means and time. The guns at com- 
mand were altogether too light. Some fighting occuiTed. Several 
gallant attempts with fire-ships were made, but the enemy's move- 
ments were too rapid, to allow of the necessary preparations in a 
country so thinly settled, and almost destitute of military supplies. 
In the course of this service. Commodore Rodgers repelled an attack 
on a small party of less than 50 men, that was made by the enemy 
in an attempt to cut off a lighter and a fire-vessel, on which occa- 
sion, Mr. Nevvcomb, Mr. Ramage, Mr. Forrest, and Mr. Stockton, 
of the Guerriere, were conspicuously useful. These gentlemen were 
also active in endeavouring to fire the enemy's ships, though unsuc- 
cessful. Most of these officers, and all their men, were ordered to 
Baltimore, when that town was threatened. 

Baltimore was a much more formidable place to assail than Wash- 
ington, being compact, and containing, at that time, more than 
40,000 souls. Its water defences were respectable, though it had 
no other fortifications on the side of the land,* than those which were 
thrown up for the occasion. The seamen, both of the ships of war 
and of the flotilla, with the marines present, were all under the com- >/ 

* It may assist the foreigner who reads American history, if he is told that in America, 
there is no fortified town. Defences have been made to resist attacks by sea, and field 
worlds have been occasionally thrown up around different places, on emergencies, but 
no American town, in the old English colonies, was ever regularly walled and fortified. 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 139 

marifi of Commodore Rodgers, who made a judicious disposition of 
his force. 

The enemy landed (larly on the 12th of September, nenr a place 
called North Point. While tliis was eftecting, the British -frigates, 
sloops, and bomb-vessels, under the command of Captain Nourse, 
of the Severn, proceeded up the Patapsco, with a view to cannonade 
and bombard the water defences of the town. Vice-Admiral Coch- 
rane, and Rear-Admiral Malcolm, were with this squadron, A 
brigade of seamen accompanied the army, under Captain Crofton. 
With this party Rear-Admiral Cockbnrn landed in ])erson. The 
troops, as at Washington, were led by Major General Ross. 

After proceeding about five miles, a small advanced party of the 
local militia momentarily checked the march of the enemy, falling- 
back, agreeably to orders, when it found itself about to be surround- 
ed. In the trifling skirmishes that occurred at this spot. Major 
General Ross Avas killed. A sharper encounter took place shortly 
after, in which the Americans had about 1590 men engaged. On 
this occasion, the militia had 24 men killed, and 129 wounded. 
They lost also, I oflicer and 49 privates, prisoners. According to 
the accounts of the enemy, he lost in both afl^'airs, 290 in killed and 
wounded. Shortly after the second skirmish, the English retreated 
to the place of debarkation, and abandoned the enterprise. The 
armed citizens of Baltimore and its vicinity, composed the force that 
met the enemy on this occasion. 

The attack by water was equally unsuccessful. Fort M'llenry 
was bombarded for twenty-four hours, without making any serious 
impression on it. A small battery in advance, manned by officers 
and men of the flotilla, although much exposed, returned the fire to 
the last. In the course of the night, a strong brigade of boats pushed 
into the Ferry Branch, and would have gained the harbour, had it 
not been received by a warm fire from Forts Covington and Babcock, 
as well as from the barges of the flotilla. The defence was found 
to be too animated, and the enemy retreated. Fort Covinoton was 
manned by 80 seamen of the Guerriere, under Mr.TVewcomb, a very 
excellent young ofticer of that ship ; and Mr. Webster, a sailing- 
master, with 50 men of the flotilla, was in the six-gun battery called 
Babcock. The barges were under the orders of Lieutenant Rutter, 
the senior oflScer present, in that branch of the service. All these 
gentlemen, and their several commanders, distinguished themselves 
by their steadiness and efliciency. 

The barges, in particular, though exposed for nearly a day and a 
night to the shells and rockets of the enemy, maintained their posi- 
tion with unflinching firmness, and when more closely attacked, 
repelled the enemy with ease. At a most critical moment, several 
vessels were sunk in the channel, which would have completely pre- 
vented the enemy from bringing up his heavy ships, had he seen fit 
to attempt it. The duty was performed with coolness and expedition 
by Captain Spence. 

The failure virtually terminated the warfare in the Chesapeake, the 
enemy shortly after collecting most of his forces at the south, with a 



/ 



140 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

view to make a still more serious attempt on New Orleans. Small 
predatory expeditions, however, continued in this quarter, to the close 
of the war, though they led to no results of sufficient importance to be 
mentioned. This warfare was generally beneficial to the American 
government; the excesses into which the enemy were led, whether 
intentionally or not, having the effect to disgust that portion of the 
population which had been seriously averse to the conflict ; and the 
administration was probably never stronger, than after the Avanton 
destruction of the public buildings at Washington. About this time, 
Captain Barney* was exchanged, and he resumed his former com- 
imand, less than half of his flotilla having been destroyed in the 
Patuxent, 

■" Joshua Barney was bom in Baltimore, July 6lli, 175a. He went to sea young:, and 
by some accidental circumstances, was early thrown into the command of a valuable ship. 
At the commencement of the war of the Revolution, or in October, 1775, he entered on 
board the Hornet 10, which was fitted at Baltimore, as a master's mate, and sailed in the 
expedition under Commodore Hopkins, asjainst the Bahamas. The Hornet was separated 
from the squadron, by bad weather, and returned to port alone. He next joined the 
Sachem 10, Captain Alexander, as a lieutenant, though his name is not Ibund on the 
regular list of the service, until July 20,1781, when it appears by the side of those of 
Dale and Murray. From this fact, it is to be inferred that the first commission regularly 
received from Congress, by either of those distinguished joung sailors, was given at that 
lime. Bnt Mr. Barney served even as a first lieutenant of a frigate at a much earlier day. 
He was in that station on board llie Virginia 28, when taken by the enemy ; and he also 
served in tlie same rank, on board the Saratoga IG. Mr. Barney escaped the fate of the 
Saratoga, in consequence of having been in a prize. 

After serving in a very gallant manner on board of different vessels of war, as a lieu- 
tenant, and in several private cruisers as commander, Mr. Barney was appointed to the 
HyderAlly. For the manner in which he rmrived fliis command, and the brilliant 
action he iought ir. that ship, the reader is referred to the text. From the year 1782 to 
that of 1804, Captain Barney served in the General Washington, (late General Monk,) 
being most of the time emplojed as a despatch vessel, or on civil duty of moment. It is 
not easy to say what was the regular rank of Captain Barney at this period. That he 
was a lieutenant in the public marine is certain, but it does not so clearly appear that he 
v\'as apiiointed to be a captain. Of his claim to this distinction there is no question, 
though it would seem that the peculiar state of the country prevented this act of justice 
from being performed. When the General \Vashington was sold, Captain Barney 
retired to private life, and, like all his brother officers of the marine of the Revolution, 
was disbanded. 

In 1794, Captain Barney was one of the six captains appointed in the new navy, but he 
declined taking the commission on account of the name of Captain Talbot preceding his 
own. In 179G, Captain Barney went to France, and not long alter, ho was induced to 
enter the French navy, with the rank oi chef de division. On the 28th of May, he sailed 
from Rochefortfor St. Domingo, in I'Harmonie 44, having la Railleuse 36 in company, 
and under his orders. After cruising some time with the.se ships, to which a third was 
subsequently added, he got the command of la Meduse and I'lnsnrgente, the latter being 
the frigate that was eventually lost in the American navy. With these two ships he 
came to America, and was watched, for several months, by a superior EnglLsh squadron. 
The manner in which Commodore Barney got to sea, wlien he was ready to sail, has 
always been greatly admired. The French frigates dropped down gradually towards 
the .sea, the enemy, moving out before them, until the former had anchored ju.st within 
the capes, and the latter were watching them in the ofling. As soon as it became dark, 
Commodore Barney lifted his anchors and stood up the bay, until far enough to be out 
of sight, when ho again brought up. The next morning, missing him, the English sup- 
posed he had got to sea in the night, and made sail in cha.se. Commodore Barney, in the 
meanwhile, followed his enemies off the coast, altering his course in time to avoid them. 

In 1800, Commodore Barney quitted the French service, and returned home. He was 
engaged in commerce until the war of 1812. The navy, by that time, had become too 
regular to allow of his being received into it, and he accepted the command of a privateer. 
He made only one cruise in this vessel, and in 1813, was put at the head of ihc flotilla in 
the Chesapeake, with the rankof a captain in the navy,though not properly in the service. 
His gallant conduct in that station lias been .shown. After the war of 1812 he held a 
civil station under the government, and died at Pitt.sburg, on his way to Kentucky, De- 
cember 1st, 1818, in the 59th year of his age. The wound received at Bladensburgh is 
supposed to have cau.sed his death. 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 141 



CHAPTER XVI. 



The enemy's fleet, Admiral Cockrane, appears off the mouth of the Mississippi— New 
Orleans — Movements of the enemy^Commejicemeiit of hostilities — Handsome resis- 
tance of Lieut. Jones — Action on Mike Borgne — ^Surrender of Lieut. Jones' flotilla, 
after a gallant defence — Landing oBie British JJ^ps below New Orleans, under Gen. 
Keaiie — Gen. Jackson marches aglTnst the eij^^H' — Assistance of the Carolina. Capt. 
Patterson, in the defence — She blows up — BaByof New Orleans — Naval officers who 
distinguished themselves. ^k 



The movements in the Chesapeake were made by a force tliat was 
assembled for other and greater objects, to undertake which it only 
waited for reinforcements. The principal expedition of the year was 
not commenced until near the close of the season, when Admiral 
Cochrane, after collecting, in the different islands, a large number 
of ships of war, transports, and store-vessels, suddenly appeared off 
the mouth of the Mississippi. This was at the commencement of De- 
cember, 1814, and there was no doubt, from the first, of a design to 
make a formidable attempt on the important town of New Orleans, 
most probably with a view to permanent conquest. 

The defence of the place, with the exception of some respectable 
fortifications that commanded the river, Avere of a very trifling nature. 
The latter were formidable, and they rendered it necessary to make 
either a descent in some of the bayous, by means of boats, or to de- 
stroy the w^orks by bombardment. As the latter required time, which 
would allow the Americans to assemble a force to resist the invasion, 
and was of doubtful issue, the former project was adopted. To 
hazard an attempt ofthe sort decided on, however, it became neces- 
sary to obtain the command of those shallow waters, by which the 
approach could only be made. To this object, therefore, the enemy 
first directed his attention. 

At the immediate point where New Orleans stands, the Mississippi 
runs nearly east and west, the site ofthe place being on the left bank 
ofthe river. Directly north ofthe town, distant but a few miles, lies 
a large body of shallow water, thtat i^ called Lake Ponchartrain,. 
though, in truth, it is merely a bay separated from the waters ofthe 
gulf, by a passage so narrow as to resemble a river. This passage is 
called the Rigolets. Another deep bay that puts in from the gulf, 
and which is connected with Ponchartrain by means ofthe Rigolets, 
is called Lake Borgne, though it deserves the name of a lake still less 
than the adjoining estuary. Vessels of a light draught can approach 
quite near the town by means of these two bodies of water, either by 
entering Lake Ponchartrain or not, while the ascent ofthe Missis- 
Captain Barnej', or Commodore Barney, as it was usual to call him, in consequence 
of his rank in the French service, was a bold, enterprising, and highly gallant officer. 
His combat with the Monk was one ofthe neatest naval exploits on record; and, in all 
situations, he manifested great spirit, and the resources of a man fitted to command. 
There is little question that he would have been one of the most distinguished officers 
of the service, had he remained in it ; and as it is, few Amei'icans enjoy a more enviable 
professional reputation. Captain Barney is said to have been engaged in 26 combats, all 
of which were against the Engliish, and in nearly all of which he was successful. 
VOL. II. 9 

* 



142 NAVAL HISTORl [1814. 

sippi is long, difficult, and extremely crooked. To command the 
approach of the river, the fortifications just mentioned had been 
erected, while the government was obliged to relj principally on the 
navy to furnish a protection for the lakes. The use of steam at that 
day was in its infancy, and the water being too shallow for vessels of 
any size, no better craft offered for this purpose than the ordinary 
gun-boats. With this view a division 6f these vessels, accompanied 
by a few light tenders, was Jftiit in tl* lakes, and it became neces- 
sary to the enemy to destroy 'fts force before he could trust his boats 
loaded with troops beyond tl]J|^rotection of the guns of his ships. 

On the 12th of December, when the enemy's fleet first made its 
appearance off the entrance of Lake Borgne, a division of five gun- 
boats was in that bay, under the command of Mr. Thomas Ap Catesby 
Jones, then a young sea-lieutenant. As soon as Mr. Jones was ap- 
prised of the appearance of the enemy, he reconnoitered his force, 
and having ascertained its strength, he retired higher into the bay, 
with a view to take a position to command the approaches towards 
the town. There were several small forts, either at the entrance 
of Lake Ponchartrain, or at the mouth of different bayous, or creeks, 
that put up into the low swampy grounds below New Orleans, and 
it was the intention of Mr. Jones to anchor near one of them, at a 
place called les Petites Coquilles. His vessels consisted merely of 
gun-boats. No 5, commanded bv Mr. Ferris, a sailing-master, and 
mounting 5 guns, with a crew of 3G men ; No. 23, Acting Lieutenant 
M'Keever, 5 guns and 39 men ; No. 156, Lieutenant Commandant 
.Tones, 5 guns and 41 men ; and No. 163, Mr. Ulrick, a sailing-master, 
3 guns and 21 men ; making a united force of 23 guns and 183 men. 
The metal varied, some of the boats having two long heavy guns, 
others but one, and all having two or three short lighterpieces. The 
vessels themselves, like all 2;iin-boats, were low, easy of entrance, 
slow in their movements, and totally without quarters. 

Some movements of the enemy, who appeared with a large flotilla 
of barges and boats in the bay, induced Mr. Jones to expect an attack, 
on the 13th, and he got underway from the position he then held, at 
3 30 P. M., to attain les Petites Coquilles, as mentioned. A small 
tendei', called the Seahorse/liiid been despatched into the Bay of St. 
Louis, a short time previously, to destroy some stores, and about 4 
o'clock the enemy sent three boats in after her, to cut her out. The 
Seahorse carried one liofht six-pounder, and had but 14 men. She 
was commanded by Mr. Johnson, a sailing-master. A few dis- 
charges of grape drove back the boats, which were soon reinforced, 
however, by four more, when a spirited engagement ensued. This 
was the commencement of actual hostilities, in the celebrated expe- 
dition against New Orleans. Mr. Johnson having got a position, 
where he was sustained by two sixes on the shore, made a handsome 
resistance, and the barges retired with some loss. A few hours 
later, however, the Seahorse and stores were set on fire by the Ameri- 
cans themselves, as it was not possible to prevent them from event- 
ually falling into the hands of a force as formidable as that brought 
up by the enemy. Not long after, another tender, called the Alii- 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. ]^43 

gator, armed with a four-pounder, and with a crew of only 8 men, 
fell into tlie hands of the Enghsii. 

About 1 A. M. on the 14th, the flotilla, which had been endeav- 
ouring to gain a better position, was compelled to anchor in tlie west 
end of the passage of Malheureux Island, on account of a failure of 
wind, and of the strength of the current. At daylight the boats of 
the enemy were seen, having brought up about three leagues to the 
eastward. It was a perfect calm, and a strong ebb tide settini;- through 
the pass, no alternative was left Mr. Jones, but to prepare obstinately 
to defend, or to abandon his vessels. He gallantly determined on 
the first, although the force that would be brought against him was 
known to be overwhelming. Arrangements were accordingly made 
to resist the expected attack to the utmost. It had been the intention 
to form the five gun-boats with springs on their cables, directly across 
the channel, in a close line abreast, but the force of the current de- 
ranged the])lan, Nos. 156 and 163 having been forced about a hun- 
dred yards down the Pass, and that much in advance of the three 
other boats. The approach of the enemy prevented an attempt to 
repair this great disadvantage, which exposed the vessels mentioned 
to being assailed while, in a measure, unsupported by their consorts. 
When the character of the resistance is considered, it appears proba- 
ble that this accident alone prevented a victory from having been 
obtained. 

The English flotilla consisted of between 40 and 50 barges and 
boats, the former expressly constructed for the purpose of the invasion, 
and they are said to have mounted 42 guns, principally carronades 
of the calibers of 12, 18, and 24 pounds. The number of men em- 
barked in these boats has been computed as high as 1200 by some 
accounts, while by others, it has been put as low as 400. The size 
and number of the barges, however, render the latter account im- 
probable, ten men to a boat being altogether too few to gain belief. 
The truth would be apt to lie between the extremes. 

At 10 39, A. M., the enemy raised his grapnels and kedges, and 
forming in open order, in a line abreast, he pulled up steadily to the 
attack. When near enough to be reached by shot, the gun-boats 
opened a deliberate fire on the approaching barges, though with little 
eflect, as they presented objects too small to be aimed at with any 
accuracy. At 1 1 10, however, the enemy opened a fire through his 
whole line, and the action immediately became general and destruc- 
tive. At 11 49, the enemy was near enough to make an attempt to 
board 156, which vessel was much exposed by her advanced position. 
Three boats dashed at her, but two were sunk, and the attack was 
repulsed. It was renewed by four boats, which were also beaten 
off with a heavy loss. In repelling this last attack, however, Mr. 
Jones was shot down, when the command devolved on Mr. Parker, 
a young midshipman, who defended his vessel until he was severely 
wounded himself, and was overpowered by numbers. The enemy 
got possession of No. 156 at 12 10, and he immediately turned her 
guns on the other American boats. No. 163 was next carried, after 
a very gallant resistance, and No. 162 followed, but not until Mr. 



144 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

Spedden was severely wounded. The twenty-four-pounder of No. 
5 had been dismounted by the recoil, and the lire of the captured 
boats having- been turned on her, she was also compelled to submit. 
No. 23, Mr. M'Keever, was the last vessel taken, hauling down her 
flag about 12 30, when under the fire of the captured boats, and all 
the enemy's remaining force. Captain Lockyer of the Sophie com- 
manded the English flotilla on this occasion, assisted by Captain 
Montresor of tlie Manley, and Captain Roberts of the Meteor. 

Althouirh the loss of this division of gun-boats was a serious im- 
pediment to the defence of New Orleans, both the country and the 
service looked upon the result of the combat as a triumph. On the 
lattei*, in particular, the resistance made by Mr. Jones, and the offi- 
cers and men under his orders, reflected great honour, for it was 
known to have been made almost without hope. Circumstances 
compelled the assailed to fight to great disadvantage, and it 
would seem that they struggled to render their chances more equal 
by a desperate but cool gallantry. In consequence of the character 
of this defence, it is usually thought, in the service, to bestow as 
much credit on an ofiicer to have been present at the defeat of Lake 
Borgne, as to have been present at a signal victory. 

There is the same disagreement in the published accounts of the 
loss of the British on this occasion, as in the published accounts of 
their force. It was the opinion of Lieutenant Commandant Jones, 
who was carried on board the enemy's fleet, that their killed and 
wounded amounted to nearly 400, while other prisoners, who, from 
not having been wounded, had perhaps better opportunities for as- 
certaining facts of this nature, have never placed it lower than be- 
tween 200 and 300 men. By the official statement of the enemy, 
as puhjislied, his loss was 94. As this was more tlian half of the num- 
ber of the Americans engaged, it proves the gallantry of the resist- 
ance, but it is believed that the true account was varied for the pur- 
pose of eflJect.* The American loss, though severe, was comparatively 
trifling. 

The command of the naval force at New Orleans had been given 
to Captain Patterson, one of the young officers who had been a pris- 
oner at Tripoli with Captain Bainbridge. Captain Patterson was a 
master commandant, and he was assisted by many excellent oflicers, 
but his force was merely intended to command the river and the 

* The diisapreement inofficial accounts, in matters that ■will not well admit of mistakes, 
leaves no choice but to suppose intentional departures from facts somewhere. In the 
British official account of the battle of New Orleans, (8th Januaiy, 1815.) their loss in 
killed is stated at 293. It is well known that the field ^vas left in possession of the Ame- 
ricans, and that they transferred the dead to the English for burial. In his letter of the 
9th of January, General .lackson saj-s, " upwards of 300 have already been delivered over 
for hurial, and my men are still engaged in picking them np, within my lines, and car- 
rying them to the point where the enemy are to receive them." Colonel Hayne, the 
American Inspector General, under \vhose orders the dead were given up, on the 13th, 
reports them at 700. The English report their missing at 475, and Colonel Hayne reports 
the prisoners at 501. A private letter, written on the 13th says, "in one small spot 
alone, on the left of our lines, they found 368 dead bodies," or 75 more than the total loss 
of the enemy's official account. It was of so much importance to impress the seamen 
with the idea that the danger of attacking in boats was not great, that^vc find a motive 
for the difference in the accounts of the two parties, in the affiiirof Lake Borgne. It by 
BO means follows that an officer writes what is published. 



18U.] NAVAL HISTORY. 145 

shallow waters in the vicinity of the town. A ship called the Louis- 
iana had been piifchased and armed with 16 long twenty-fours. Men 
were pressed in the streets for the emergency, under a law of the 
state, and the command of the vessel was given to Lieutenant C. B. 
Thompson. 

The enemy findincr himself in command of Lake Borgne, by the 
capture of the gun-boats, sent up a brigade of troops, under Major 
General Keane, wliich succeeded in entering a bayou, and in landing 
but a few miles below the town. Here he encamped, after advanc- 
ino- to some hard ground, on the night of the 23d of December, with 
his left flank resting on the Mississippi. No sooner was the position 
of the British known to the Americans, than General Jackson march- 
ed aoainst them with all the disposable force he could assemble, 
making a total of about 1500 men, and by a prompt and spirited night 
attack he saved New Orleans. The movements of the troops on this 
occasion, were preceded by Captain Patterson's dropping down 
abreast of the English bivouac, in the U. S. schooner Carolina 14, 
and opening a most galling fire. The excellent use made of this 
little vessel, on the 23d, as well as her continuing to threaten the 
left flank of the enemy, materially contributed to the general success 
of the campaign, there being no question that the check received by 
the English in the action just mentioned, alone prevented him from 
marching into New Orleans, from which town he was distant only a 
few miles. It had been intended that the Louisiana should join in 
this attack, but the ship could not be got ready in time. 

A few davs later, however, the Carolina was very critically placed. 
The enemy had landed some guns, and the wind having blown fresh 
for some time at N. N. W., it had been found impossible to ascend 
the stream against the current that was even too strong for warping. 
The armament of the schooner consisted only of twelve-pound car- 
ronades, and one long giTU of the same caliber. On the morning of 
the 27th, the wind being quite light at the northward, the enemy 
opened upon the Carolina with hot shot and shells, from a five-gun 
battery. The cannonade was returned from the long twelve, the only 
piece that could be used, but the schooner was soon set on fire, be- 
neath her cable tiers, and a little after sunrise Captain Henley was 
comi)elled to give orders to abandon her. Before this could be ef- 
fected,? men were killed and wounded, and the vessel was much 
injured by shot. Shortly after the crew had got on shore, the Caro- 
lina blew up. Durinn;- four or five of the most critical days of the 
eampaion, this little vessel rendered signal service, and the enemy 
have always paid a just tribute to the spirit, judgment, and intrepidity 
with which she was managed. Her behaviour on the night of the 
23d, reflected great credit on Captain Patterson, and on all under 
his orders. 

The Louisiana was now the only vessel in the river, and she cov- 
ered the flank of the American lines. On board this ship Captain 
Patterson repaired, after the loss of the Carolina. On the morning 
of the 28th, an advance of the enemy against the American troops, 
drew a fire from and upon the ship, which was maintained for seven 



146 NAVAL HISTORY. [1815. 

hours. In the course of this long cannona'de, the Louisiana threw 
800 shot among the enemy, though she suffered very little in return. 
After the destruction of the Carolina, her officers and people volun- 
teered to man some of the heavy guns that were mounted on the 
American lines, and they had a share in all the subsequent successes 
obtained on shore. Captain Patterson also erected a battery on the 
right bank of the river, which was put up under the orders of Cap- 
tain Henley, and was of material use. On the 8th of January the 
Eno'lish made their grand assault, and were defeated with dreadful 
slaughter. In this extraordinary battle, the loss of the enemy was 
computed at from two to three thousand men, more than two tliou- 
sand having been killed and wounded. The seaman's battery on 
the right bank of the river was temporarily abandoned, but the Lou- 
isiana was of great use, and the officers and men of the service dis- 
tinguished themselves by their activity, zeal, and courage. On this 
occasion Captain Henley was wounded. One gun, in particular, 
commanded by Mr. Piiilibert, a midshipman, was served in a man- 
ner to attract general attention. The Louisiana continued to assist 
in annoying the enemy, until the night of the 18th, when the English 
retreated to their boats, and embarked, abandoning their attempt 
altogether. 

Ca))tain Patterson immediately despatched several officers, in com- 
mand of expeditions, to intercept and annoy the enemy on their re- 
treat, though the want of a direct communication between the river 
and the lakes, prevented the employment of any vessels larger than 
boats, on this service. Mr. Thomas Shields, a purser, who had pre- 
viously been a sea-officer, and who had 6 boats and 50 men under 
his orders, was so fortunate as to capture one of the enemy*s large 
boats, with 40 officers and men of the 14th light dragoons, and 14 
seamen on board. After securing these prisoners, Mr. Shields cap- 
tured a barge and a transport schooner, and subsequently five other 
boats, making in all 8-3 more prisoners. Some skirmishing occurred, 
and Mr. Shields lost one or two of his prizes and prisoners, but he 
succeeded in bringing in with him 78 of the latter, besides destroying 
several boats. Mr. Johnson, a sailing-master, also performed some 
service of the same nature with credit, destroying a transport and 
capturing a party of men. 

In all the important service performed in front of New Orleans, 
during this short but arduous campaign, the navy had a full share, 
though its means were necessarily so limited. Captain Patterson, 
Captain Henley, Lieutenants Jones, Thompson, M'Keever, Sped- 
den, Cunningham, Norris, Crowley, with several sailing-masters and 
midshipmen, distinguished themselves, on different occasions. The 
service also witnessed with peculiar satisfaction the intelligence and 
spirited conduct of Mr. Shields, an officer who had received his train- 
ing in its own school. The marine corps had its share, too, in the 
honours of this glorious campaign, a small detachment of it having 
acted with its usual good condiict, under the command of Major 
Carmick, who was wounded in the affair of the 28th of December. 

Although it will be exceeding the rigid limits of a strictly nautical 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 147 

work, this chapter cannot be closed without paying a tribute to the 
gallant band of armed citizens that, in the main, drove the enemy 
from the shores of Louisiana. The attempt was made under the false 
impression, which had been industriously circulated in Europe, of 
an extensive disafl'ection to the American Union ; a delusion that 
was soon destroyed at the point of the boyonet. It would be diffi- 
cult to find another instance in history in which a population, 
deficient in arms, oroanisation, training, and numbers, so signally 
defeated a powerful force of disciplined troops, accustomed to war, 
or manifested the same degree of promptitude, unanimity, and spirit, 
in preventintv their firesides from being violated by the presence of a 
licentious soldiery, as was the fact with the defenders of New Orleans. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



Britisli and American force on Lake Ontario — Resottrceeof tlie two countries — Attack 
on Sacketts Harbour — Lieut. Wool^^ey defends against six British \esscls — Appoint- 
ment of Com. Cliauncey — Six schooners purchased and equipped — Forces compared 
— Upper Lakes — Attack on, and capture of tlie British brigs Detroit and Caledonia, 
by Lieut. Elliot— he receives a sword from Congress^Part of the John Adams' crew 
reach Buffalo — Com. Chauncey puts out in squadron — The Royal George retires un- 
der the batteries of the enemy — Accident on board the Pert — Capture by the Hamilton 
and Growler — Descent upon the British ports on Niagara river — Gallant conduct 
of Lieut. Angus — The enemy's batteries carried, guns spiked and barracks burned — 
Marvelous escape of Messrs. Dudley, Holdup and Wragg. 

We have' now reached a period when it has become proper to 
advert to events on the different lakes, which were the scenes of some 
of the most important, as well as of the most interesting incidents of 
the war. In order to do this, it will be necessary to return to the 
commencement of hostilities, for the whole of this portion of the sub- 
ject lias been reserved, in order to lay it before the reader in a con- 
tinued narrative, having no immediate connexion with its other 
branches. 

The English covernment had long maintained a small naval force 
on .the great lakes; though much the larger portion of Champlain 
being within the jurisdiction of the United States, it had kept no 
cruiser on that water. On Lake Ontario, however, there were sev- 
eral vessels, as early as the commencement of the century, one of 
which was a ship called the Earl of Moira. When the American 
government caused the Oneida 16 to be built, that of the Canadas 
laid down the keel of a ship called the Royal George, which was 
pierced for 22 guns, and which was about one half larger than the 
American vessel. 

The Oneida was manned and equipped at the declaration of the 
war, and was still under the command of Mr. Woolsey, who had built 
her fgnr years previously. The naval station on the American side 
of the lake was at Sackett's Harbour, a beautiful and safe basin, not 



148 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

far from the commencement of the St. Lawrence, while that of the 
British was nearly opposite, at Rinj^ston. The enemy, however, 
had greatly the advantage in ports, those of the north shore of this 
lake being generally the most commodious and easy of entrance, 
though probably not as numerous as those of the south. The Eng- 
lish also possessed a material advantage over the Americans, in all 
the warfare of this region of country, whether on the water, or on the 
land, in the age and more advanced civilisation, and consequently, 
in the greater resources of the settlements on their southern frontier, 
over those on the northern frontier of the United States. It being a 
common error to associate with the facts, the very reverse of this state 
of things, as settlements recede from the ocean, it may be useful to 
explain the cause. 

The views of the French, when they held the Canadas, extending 
to a union between these northern provinces, and those they then 
occupied on the Gulf of Mexico and on the banks of the Mississippi, 
a line of posts had early been established along the great waters, and 
around these several spots settlements had been made, of course, 
some of which dated anterior to any of the possessions of the Dutch 
in New York, or of the English in Pennsylvania. Thus the country 
in the immediate vicinity of the Niagara river was as old, in the way 
of civilisation, as that in the vicinity of the city of New York ; and 
in many respects it had all the appearances and advantaijes of its 
antiquity. The same was true of other points on the Canadian 
frontier. Kingston, which had been called Frontenac by the French, 
was a town of some size, and it enjoyed the facilities and resources 
that are produced by time and care. On the American shores of all 
the great waters, with an immaterial exception at Detroit, the very 
reverse was the case. The settlements were isolated, poor, and 
recent. Sackett's Harbour was an insignificant hamlet of a dozen 
houses ; Oswego was but little larger, and no other place worthy to 
be called even a village, then existed on the American side of Lake 
Ontario. Ogdensburg, much the most important port in all that 
region, was a new village, about sixty miles down the St. Lawrence, 
and was of no use as a naval station. In addition to this great disad- 
vantage, the larger lakes were bounded by broad belts of forest, with 
roads that were always bad, and sometimes nearly impassable. Be- 
tween the Hudson and the shores of Ontario, a distance of 200 miles, 
there existed no other means of communication, at that day, than 
were offered by the ordinary highways, and an imperfi-ct and inter- 
rupted navigation along the waters of the Mohawk, Wood Creek,. 
Oneida Lake, and the rivers that flow from the latter into Lake On- 
tario. Supplies were consequently obtained with great difficulty, 
and at an enormous expense. On the other hand, the enemy, pos- 
sessing the outlet of the St. Lawrence, and, in one sense, a command 
of the ocean, was enabled to convey all the required naval and mili- 
tary stores, from the ware-houses in England, to the dock-yards in 
the Canadas, liy water. It will at once be understood tlnit, while the 
scene of the warfare that is about to be related, was apparently at a 
vast distance from the seat of British power, as to all practical pur- 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. ^49 

poses, it was nearer to the resources of that empire, than were the 
naval stations of America to the seaports of tiie republic. 

At the time war was declared, England, however, had no officers 
of Jier royal marine on the American lakes, while those who beionoed 
to the Oneida, and to the gun-boats on Chaniplain, were regularly 
trained, and bore commissions in the navy of the United States. 
There is no doubt that this circumstance materially influenced the 
results of the first acts of hostilities that occurred, the English vessels 
being conducted by a set of provincial seamen, who had never enjoy- 
ed a sufficient opportunity of acquiring the discipline, or of indjibing 
the spirit of a high-toned service. Still the British vessels, not long 
before, had been commanded by one who had passed his youth in the 
English navy, and a few of his inferiors had also possessed limited 
opportunities of learning its practice. 

The great superiority of the enemy in force, notwithstanding his 
known inferiority in discipline and comparative efficiency, prevented 
Lieutenant Commandant Woolsey from inviting hostilities, which 
were permitted to come from the enemy. On the 19th of July, or 
about a month after war was declared, five sail were discov<'red from 
the fort at Sackett's Harbour, a few leagues in the offing, and shortly 
after, they captured a boat belonging to the custom-house, which 
they sent in, with a demand that the Oneida should be surrendered 
to them, as well as a schooner called the Lord Nelson, that had been 
captured not long before by the brig. The Oneida now got under 
way, and ran down to windward of the enemy's squadron, to try her 
sailing, and, if possible, to pass it, with a view to escape. Finding 
the latter impracticable, however. Lieutenant Commandant Woolsey 
beat back into the harbour, and anchored his brig close under a bank, 
where she could rake the entrance. All the guns of her oft' side 
were landed and mounted on the shore, presenting a force of 16 
twenty-four-pound carronades in battery. On a height that com- 
manded the offing, as well as the entrance, was a small fort ; here a 
long thirty-two-pounder, that had been originally intended for the 
Oneida, in her legal character of a gun-boat, was mounted ; and the 
enemy still remaining outside, Mr. Woolsey repaired to the spot, and 
took charge of the piece in person. 

The enemy kept turning to windward, and having got within gun- 
shot, he opened a slow, irregular, and ill-directed fire on the fort, 
brig', and batteries. His fire was returned ; and, after a cannonade 
of about two hours, the English vessels bore up, and stood back 
towards Kingston. This was the commencement of hostilities on 
the lakes, and it fully proved the incompetency of the officers in 
charge of the enemy's force, for the duty with which they had been 
entrusted. The English vessels consisted of the Royal George 22, 
Prince Reuent 16, Earl of Moira 14, Duke of Gloucester, Seneca, 
and the Simcoe.* On the part of the Americans, no harm was 

* The English changed the names of their vessels in a way to render it very difficult 
to trace them, or to particularise their force. The Earl of Moira, a ship in 1812, was de- 
Btroyed, under anollier name, as a brig, in 1814, and had been a schooner in the interval. 



150 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

done ; while the enemy is believed to have received some trifling 
injuries. 

It is probable that the government of Canada was itself dissatisfied 
with the result of this first experiment of its naval forces, for soon 
after arrangements were made to send ofl[icers and men who belong- 
ed to the royal navy, upon the lakes. It was apparent to botli na- 
tions, that the command of the inland waters was of great importance 
in carrying on the war of the frontiers, and each of the belligerents 
commenced systematic operations to obtain it. As the enemy was 
already much the strongest on Ontario, it was incumbent on the 
American government to take the first measures, and it set about 
them in earnest, very shortly after the beginning of hostilities. It 
being evident that the command was one of the most important that 
had ever been confided to an American officer, great care was neces- 
sary in the selection of the individual to whom this highly responsi- 
ble and arduous duty was to be confided. The choice of the depart- 
ment fell on Captain Isaac Chauncey, then at the head of the New 
York navy yard ; and it was generally admitted, by all conversant 
with his professional character, that a better selection could not have 
been made. Of tried firmness and spirit, Captain Chauncey was 
one of the best practical seamen of the age, and his knowledge of 
ships extended to all those details which would properly come within 
the scope of his duties. His orders were dated August 3lst, 1812, 
and on the 6lh of October, he arrived at Sackett's Harbour in person. 
As the command of Commodore Chauncey extended to all the lakes, 
with the exception of Champlain, he had employed the time that 
intervened between the date of his orders, and that of his arrival on 
the station, in organising and despatching the means for creating . 
the necessary force. Forty ship-carpenters left New York on the 
first week of September, and more followed immediately. Instruc- 
tions were sent to Mr. Wooisey, to purchase sundry small merchant 
vessels ; and on the 18th of September, 100 officers and seamen left 
New York for Sackett's Harbour, with guns, shot, stores, «fec. 

The vessels used by the Americans in the navigation of Lake On- 
tario, were schooners, varying in size from 30 to 109 tons ; and the 
first measure of Commodore Chauncey was to purchase a sufficient 
number of these craft to obtain the command of the lake, until others 
better fitted for war could be constructed. A selection was accord- 
ingly made of several of the most eligible, by Mr. Woolsey, and they 
were bought, armed, equipped, manned, and put into the service, 
under the names of the Hamilton, Governor Tompkins, Conquest, 
Growler, Julia, Pert, &-c. &:c. Neither of these schooners had the 
construction or the qualities requisite for vessels of wai*, but they 
were the best for the service contemplated that could then be found 
on those waters. Without quarters, their armaments consisted 
principally of long guns, mounted on circles, with a few of a lighter 
description, that could be of no material service, except in repelling 
boarders. The keel of a ship to mount 24 thirty-two-pound carron- 
ades, however, was laid down in September, or before the couimand- 
ino- officer reached the station. 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 151 

111 conjunction with the Oneida, the entire flotilla that could be 
made immediately available mounted 40 guns, and it was manned 
with 430 men, tlie marines included. As the' armament of the 
Oneida was just 16 guns, it follows that there was an average of 4 
guns each, among the six other vessels. At this time, the enemy 
was said to possess on Ontario, the Royal George 2"2, Earl of Muira 
14, both ships ; and the schooners Prince Regent 16, Duke of Gluu- 
cester 14, Simcoe 12, and Seneca 4; making a force in guns, more 
than double that of the Americans, with a proportionate disparity in 
the number of the crews. As cruising vessels, the enemy's squadron 
possessed an advantage in their size and construction, that greatly 
increased their superiority. 

While these preparations were making on Ontario, the service on 
the other lakes was not overlooked. Owing to the manner in which 
the navigation is interrupted by the cataract of Niagara, there is no 
natural communication between the first of these great bodies of 
fresh water, and its inore western neighbours, nor had any artificial 
means been attempted at that early day. It was necessary, in con- 
sequence, to construct and collect different squadrons, or flotillas, 
for the different waters, a duty that greatly increased the expense 
of the preparations, and materially added to the arduous character 
of the command. As the supplies for the Indian warf\ire of the 
northwest, as well as the protection of the right flank of the enemy, 
depended, in a great measure, on the ability to navigate Erie 'and 
the upper lakes, as the contiguous waters are termed, both sides 
turned their attention early to the means of obtaining an ascendency 
on the former, which, it was felt, must be the place where the con- 
test was to be decided. 

Previously to the war of 1812, there was no vessel on the upper 
lakes, that properly belonged to the American marine. A bri"-, 
called the Adams, however, had been constructed on these waters, 
for the convenience of the war department, which, under its own 
officers, had long found it useful in the transportation of stores and 
military supplies. This vessel had no proper quarters, though 
insuflicient substitutes had been provided ; and the peculiar service 
rendering her, at all times, liable to assaults from the savages of the 
interior, she had an armament of light guns. By the capture of 
Michigan, however, the Adams fell into the hands of the enemy, 
who changed her name to the Detroit, and took her into their ser- 
vice. At this time, the enemy possessed two or three other vessels 
on the upper lakes, and of course, this capture, for the moment, gave 
thein complete command of the waters, between the outlet of Lake 
Erie and the head of Lake Michigan. 

With a view to counteract this ascendency Lieutenant J.D. Elliot 
was sent by Commodore Chauncey to the upper lakes, about the 
time that the latter officer appeared at Sackett's Harbour, with direc- 
tions to purchase any suitable vessels that might be found, and to 
make prepar?Ctions also for the creation of the necessary force in that 
quarter. While Mr. Elliot was thus employed, a fortunate concur- 
rence of circumstances put it in the power of this officer to plan a 



152 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

blow at the enemy, of which he availed himself with a spirit and 
promptitude that were highly creditable. On the morning of the 7th 
of October, the Detroit came down the lake, in company with another 
brig-, called the Caledonia, and anchored under Fort Erie, and that 
very day intelligence was received that the first party of seamen 
intended for the lake was within a short march of the Niagara fron- 
tier. Orders were accordingly sent to hasten their arrival, which 
actually took place about noon of the same day. 

Finding that the men were without arms, Mr. Elliot applied to 
Brigadier General Smythe, the officer in command of the troops on 
that frontier, who not only furnished the necessary means, but who 
permitted about tifiy soldiers to volunteer to aid in the enterprise, 
under the orders of Captain Towson of the artillery, who also volun- 
teered for the occasion. 

Two of the large boats used in those waters, containing about 50 
men each, partly seamen and partly soldiers, were prepared for the 
service, and a small boat, or two, were manned by a few civilians. 
The party attempted to pull out of Buffalo Creek, early in the eve- 
ning of the 7th, but the large boats grounded on the bar. Here some 
delay occurred, it being found necessary for most on board to get 
into the water, before they could make the boats float again. It was 
consequently much later when the adventurers reached the stream. 

As the enemy lay near their own shore, the party pulled some 
distance up the lake in order to get above his vessels, before they 
edged away. It was past midnight when they got near the two 
brigs, the Detroit lying highest up stream, and farthest from the land. 
The boat destined to attack the Caledonia was directed to lead, in 
order that both vessels might be assaulted as nearly as possible at 
the same moment. This boat was under the orders of Mr. Watts, a 
sailing-master, supported by Captain Towson, while Mr. Elliott, in 
person, had charge of the other boat, in which were Lieutenant 
Roach of the artillery, and Ensign Pressman of the infantry. 

As the leading boat crossed the bow of the Detroit, the enemy took 
the alarm, and the party of Mr. Elliott, as it approached, received 
two volleys of musketry. Without regarding this, both boats pulled 
steadily on, that which led reaching the Caledonia in proper time, 
but it would seem that one of the grapnels missed, and she fell so far 
astern as to allow the enemy to make a stout resistance. Here the 
decision and spirit of Captain Towson were of material service, and 
the vessel was captured. Lieutenant Roach of the army, who was 
accustomed to the duty, steered the boat of Mr. Elliott, which was 
laid alongside of the Detroit with great steadiness and accuracy, 
when the party went aboard of the enemy. Lieutenants Elliott and 
Roach leading. The former had a narrow escape, his hat havinii 
been struck from his head, and at the same instant he nearly cleft 
the skull of the English commander, who discovered the greatest 
resolution. Being well supported, this brig was carried with great 
rapidity. 

In this handsome affair, one man was killed, and a few were 
wounded, including Mr. Cummings a midshipman, in the boat of 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 153 

Mr. Elliott, while that of Mr. Watts, owingto the circumstance men- 
tioned, sustained rather more loss. Mr. Elliott reported the Detroit 
as carrying six long nines, and to have had a crew of fifty-six souls. 
The Caledonia mounted but two guns, and had a much smaller com- 
plement of men. About thirty American prisoners were found in the 
former vessel, and ten in the latter. 

The Caledonia was brought successfully over to the American 
side, but the Detroit met with greater difficulty. Mr. Elliott found 
himself obliged to drop down the river, passing the forts under a brisk 
fire, and anchoring within reach of their guns. Here a cannonade 
took place, during which fruitless efforts were made to get lines to 
the American shore, in order to warp the brig across. Finding him- 
self assailed by the guns of the enemy's works, as well as by some 
light artillery, Mr. Elliott determined to cut, and drop out of the 
reach of the first, believing himself able to resist the last. This plan 
succeeded in part, but the pilot having left the vessel, she brought 
up on Squaw Island. The prisoners were now sent on shore, and 
shortly after Mr. Elliott left her, with a view to obtain assistance. 
About this time the enemy boarded the prize, but were soon driven 
out of her, by the artillery of Lieutenant Colonel Scott, the Detroit 
being commanded equally by the guns on both sides of the Niagara. 
Under such circumstances, the vessel was efiectually rendered unfit 
for service, and in the end, after removing most of her stores, she 
was burned by the Americans. 

This was the first naval success obtained by either nation, in the 
warfare on the lakes, and it was deemed a fortunate commencement 
for the Americans, on waters where they might hope to contend with 
their powerful foes, on an equality. The conduct of Mr. Elliott was 
much applauded, and Congress voted him a sword. His promptitude 
and decision were of great service, and it adds to the merit of all en- 
gaged, that the Caledonia was thought to be a brig of a force much 
superior to what she proved to be, when they left the shore. The 
army had an equal sliare, in the credit of this dashing little enter- 
prise, Captain Towson, who in effect, commanded one of the boats, 
though it was necessarily managed by a sea-officer, having })articu- 
larly shown decision and conduct. The names of Lieutenant Roach 
of the artillery, Ensign Pressman of the infantry, and of several vol- 
unteers from Buffalo, were also included in the eulogies of the com- 
mandingofficer. 

Not long after this successful exploit, part of the crew of the John 
Adams 28, which had been laid up at New York, reached Buffalo, 
to help man the force government intended to equip on Lake Erie. 
Mr. Angus, his senior officer, accompanying this party, and there 
being a want of lieutenants on the other lake, Mr. Elliott now went 
below to join the vessels immediately under the orders of Commodore 
Chauncey. Before quittinjr this station, however, this officer had 
contracted for several schooners, that lay in the Niagara, but which 
it was subsequently found difficult to get into the lake on account of 
the enemy's batteries. 

Commodore Chauncey first appeared on the lake on the 8th of 



154 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

November, with his broad pennant flying on board the Oneida IG, 
Lieutenant Commandant Woolsey, and having in company the 
Conquest, Lieutenant Elliott'; Hamilton, Lieutenant M'Pherson ; 
Governor Tompkins, Lieutenant Brown ; Pert, Mr. Arundel ; Jidia, 
Mr. Trant; and Growler, Mr. Mix ; the three last named officers 
holding the rank of sailing-masters. The object in going out, was 
to intercept the return of the enemy's vessels, most of which were 
known to have been to the westward, conveying supplies to the army 
at Kingston. In order to efiect this purpose, the American squad- 
ron, or flotilla, for it scarcely merited the former term, went oft" the 
False Ducks, some small islands that lie in the track of vessels keep- 
ing the north shore aboard. As it approached the intended station a 
ship was made in shore. She was soon ascertained to be the Royal 
George, then much the largest vessel that had ever been constructed 
on the inland waters of America. That a ship of her force should 
feel it necessary to retire before the Oneida, must be attributed to the 
circumstance of her not being properly officered, the enemy not 
having yet made their drafts from the royal navy for the service on 
the lakes. Commodore Chauncey chased the Royal George into 
the Bay of Quinte, and lost sight of her in the night. The next 
morning, however, she was seen again, lying in the naiTOW passage 
that leads down to Kingston. Signal was immediately made for a 
general chase, which was vigorously kept up, with alternate squalls 
and light airs, until the enemy was fairly driven in under the protec- 
tion of his own batteries. 

Although the wind blew directly in, and made a retreat difficult, 
Commodore Chauncey decided to follow the enemy, and feel his 
means of defence, with an intention of laying the ship aboard, should 
it be found practicable. Arrangements for that purpose were ac- 
cordingly made, and a little before 3 P. M. the vessels that were up, 

t into their stations, and stood towards the mouth of the harbour. 
The CbrfiPjqest, Lieutenant Elliott, led in handsome style, followed 
by the Julia, Mr. Trant, Pert, Mr. Arundel, and Growler, Mr. Mix, 
in the order named. The Oneida brought up the rear, it being 
intended to give time for the heavy guns of the schooners to open the 
way for a closer attack by the brig. The Hamilton and Governor 
Tompkins were a considerable distance astern, having been sent to 
chase, and did not close for some time. 

At five minutes past 3, the batteries on India and Navy Points 
opened on the Conquest, but their fire was not returned until seven 
minutes later. In three minutes after the Conquest commenced 
firing, she was joined by the other three schooners in advance. The 
gun of the Pert bursted at the third discharge. By this accident, 
Mr. Arundel, her commander, was badly, and a midshipman and 
three men were slightly wounded. The vessel was rendered, in a 
great degree, useless, for the remainder of the day. The Oneida, 
though under fire for some time previously, did not open with her 
carronades on the Royal George, until forty minutes past 3, but 
when she did commence, the enemy was soon thrown into confusion, 
and at 4 P. M. he cut his cables, ran deeper into the bay, and made 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 155 

fust to a wharf, directly under the protection of the muskets of the 
troops. Here, a part of her people actually deserted her, though 
they subsequently returned on board. Soon after, the Governor 
Tompkins, Lieutenant Brown, bore up off the harbour, in a beauti- 
ful manner, and engaged, having been preceded some time, with 
equal gallantry, by the Hamilton, Lieutenant M'Pherson. The ac- 
tion became warm and general, and was maintained with spirit for 
half an hour, the enemy firing from live batteries, the s-hip, and some 
moveable guns. It was now so near night, the wind blew so directly i 
in, and the weather looked so threatening, that the pilots declared 
their unwillingness to be responsible any lonaer for the vessels, and 
Commodore Chauncey, who found the enemy much stronger on 
shore than he had been taught to believe, made the signal for the 
flotilla to haul off. When an offing of about two miles had been 
gained, however, the squadron anchored, with an intention to renew 
the attack in the morning. 

In this spirited affair, which partook of the characterof the assaults 
on Tripoli, and which was probably inferior to none of the cannon- 
ades on that town, for gallantry and vigour, after a due allowance 
is made for the difference in the force employed, the Americans 
suffered much less than might have been expected. The Oneida 
had one man killed and three wounded, and she received some dam- 
age aloft. The other vessels escaped even better, the audacity of 
the attack, as is so often the case, producing a sort of impunity. 
Mr. Arundel, of the Pert, however, who had refused to quit the deck, 
though badly wounded, was unfortunately knocked overboard and 
drowned, while the vessel was beating vqi to her anchorage. 

The schooners behaved well on this occasion, creating a high de- 
gree of confidence on the part of Commodore Chauncey, in his offi- 
cers and men, and a corresponding feeling of respect in the latter 
towards their commander. The steady manner in Avhich all the 
vessels beat up to their anchorage, under a brisk fire from the ene- 
my's guns and batteries, was not the least creditable part of their 
conduct, on this occasion. The loss of the English is not known, 
thouirh it was evident that the Royal George suffered materially. 
The feeblenes of their resistance was probably ov.ing to the audacity 
of the attack, as they could not have anticipated that a force so small 
would presume to lie off a place amply provided with the means of 
defence. 

On the morning of the 10th there was every appeai*ance of a gale of 
wind, and the contemplated attack was deferred. At 7 A. M. a 
signal was made to weigh, and the flotilla turned out of a very nar- 
row passage into the open lake, under a press of sail, the lateness 
of the season, and the known character of that tempestuous water, 
and the appearances of foul weather, rendering the measure prudent. 
Shortly after getting an offing, the Simcoe was seen and chased into 
shoal water, undowa sharp fire from the Tompkins, Hamilton, and 
Julia, which cut her up a good deal. She escaped, however, by 
crossing a reef, though followed into nine feet water, by Mr. M'Pher- 
son, in the Hamilton. It coming on to blow a gale, the pilots refused 



156 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

to remain out any longer, and Commodore Chauncey was compelled 
to return to Sackett's Harbour. 

While chasing in the Bay ofQuinte, a schooner was captured by 
the Hamilton, and burned, and as the flotilla ran into Kingston it 
captured another, off the mouth of the harbour. It was found that 
this prize could not turn out of the passage next morning, with the 
other vessels, and the Growler, Mr. Mix, was directed to run down 
past the port with her, with a view to come up on the other side of 
the island, and with the hope that the appearance of these two ves- 
sels might induce the Royal George to come out in chase. The latter 
project failed, but the Growler got safe into Sackett's Harbour on 
the 13th, with this and another prize, a sloop, having on board a 
brother of the late General Brock. 

Intelligence reaching Commodore Chauncey thatthe Earl of Moira 
was off the Ducks, he sailed the same day with the Oneida, in a snow 
storm, to capture her, but the enemy was too much on the alert to 
be caught by surprise, and the distances on the lake were too short 
to admit of his being easily overtaken in chase. The Oneida saw 
the Royal George and two schooners, but even these three vessels 
were not disposed to engage the American brig singly. The two 
schooners in company with the Royal George on this occasion, were 
supposed to be the Prince Resfent and the Duke of Gloucester. 
Commodore Chauncey then went off Oswego to cover some stores 
expected by water. During this short cruise the Oneida narrowly 
escaped shipwreck, and the ice made so fast that it would have been 
impossible to work the carronades had there been a necessity for it. 
The Conquest, Tompkins, Growler, and Hamilton, notwithstanding, 
continued to cruise off Kingston, until the 17th of November. On 
the 19th the Commodore attempted to go to the head of the lake, but 
was driven back by a gale, during which so much ice was made as 
to endanger the vessel. The Growler was dismasted. Early in 
December the navigation closed for the season. 

While these events were occurring on the lower lake, the navy 
was not altogether unemployed on the upper waters, although, as 
yet, not a single vessel had been equipped. A small body of troops 
had been collected at Buffalo under Brigadier General Smythe, and 
it was generally understood that it was the intention of that oflicer to 
make a descent on the Canada shore, as soon as a competent force 
was prepared. Towai'ds the close of November, it was believed that 
the ari'angements were in a sufficient degree of forwardness to admit 
of an attempt to drive the enemy from the batteries that lined the 
opposite shore, in order to clear the way for the landing of the 
brigade. To aid it in executing this important service, the army 
naturally turned its eyes for professional assistance towards the body 
of seamen collected at this point. 

The men of the John Adams had encamped in the woods, near 
the river, and finding the enemy in the practice of cannonading across 
the Niagara, shortly after their arrival, they dove into the wreck of 
the Detroit, at night, made fast to, and succeeded in raising four of 
that vessel's guns with a hirge quantity of shot. These pieces were 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 157 



mounted in battery, and a desultory cannonading was maintained, 
by both parties, until the arrival of some heavy guns from the sea- 
board, when the Americans got a force in battery, that enabled thcin 
completely to maintain their ground against their adversaries. In 
this manner, more than a month had passed, when the application 
was made to Mr. Angus, for some officers and seamen to assist in 
carrying and silencing the batteries opposite, in order to favour the 
intended descent. The arrangements were soon completed, and the 
morning of the 28th of November was chosen for the undertaking. 

The contemplated invasion having separate points in view, the 
expedition was divided into two parties. One commanded by Cap- 
tain King of the 15th infentry, was directed to ascend the current a 
little, in order to reach its point of attack, while the other was in- 
structed to descend it, in about an equal proportion. The first being 
much the most arduous at the oars, the seamen were wanted espe- 
cially for this service. Mr. Angus accordingly embarked in 10 boats, 
with 70 men, exclusively of officers, and accompanied by Captaiji 
King, at the head of a detachment of 150 soldiers. With this party 
went Mr. Samuel Swartwout of New York, as a volunteer. Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Boerstler commanded 10 more boats which conveyed 
the detachment, about 200 strong, that was to descend with the 
current. 

The division containing the seamen left the American shore first, 
about 1 A. M.with muffled oars, and pulled deliberately, and in beau- 
tiful order, into the stream. That the enemy were ready to meet 
them is certain, and it is probable he was aware of an intention to 
cross that very night. Still all was quiet on the Canada side, until 
the boats had passed out of the shadows of the forest into a stronger 
light, when they were met with a discharge of musketry and the fire 
of two field pieces, that were placed in front of some barracks 
known by the name of the Red House. The eflect of this reception 
was to produce a little confusion and disorder, and some of the offi- 
cers and a good many men being killed or wounded, all the boats did 
not gain the shore. Those in which efficient officers remained, 
however, dashed in, in the handsomest manner, and the seamen in 
them landed in an instant. A body of the enemy was drawn up in 
front of the barracks, with their left flank covered by the two guns. 
As soon as the troops could be formed, the enemy's fire was returned, 
and a short conflict occurred. At this juncture a small party of sea- 
men armed with pikes and pistols, headed by Mr. Watts, a sailing- 
master, and Mr. Holdup, made a detour round the foot of the hill, 
and charging the artillerists, took the guns in the most gallant man- 
ner, mortally wounding and capturing Lieutenant King, who com- 
manded them. At the same instant the remaining seamen and the 
troops charged in front, when the enemy broke and took refuge in 
the barracks. 

The enemy's fire was now very destructive, and it became indis- 
pensable to dislodge him. Several spirited young midshipmen were 
with the party, and three of them, Messrs. Wragg, Holdup, and Dud- 
ley, with a few men, succeeded in burstmg open a window, through 

VOL. II. 10 



158 NAVAL HISTORY. [1812. 

which they made an entrance. This gallant little party unbarrfid an 
outer door, when Mr. Angus and the seamen rushed in. In an in- 
stant, the straw on which the soldiers slept was on fire, and the bar- 
racks were immediately wrapt in flames. The enemy, a party of 
grenadiers, was on the upper floor, and finding it necessary to retreat, 
he made a vigorous charge, and escaped by the rear of the building. 
Here he rallied, and was attacked by Captain King, who had formed 
outside. 

The party of seamen and soldiers now got separated, in conse- 
quence of an order having been given to retreat, though it is not 
known from what quarter it proceeded, and a portion of both the 
seamen and the soldiers fell back upon the boats and re-embarked. 
Mr. Angus, finding every eflxtrt to stop this retreat useless, retired 
with his men. But Captain King, with a party of the troops, still 
remained engaged, and with him were a few seamen, with Messrs. 
Wragg, Dudley, and Holdup at their head. These young officers 
fell in with the soldiers, and a charge being ordered, the enemy again 
broke and fled into a battery. He was followed, and driven from 
place to place, until, entirely routed, he left Captain King in com- 
mand of all the batteries at that point. 

Believing that their part of the duty was performed, the young sea- 
officers Avho had remained now retired to the shore, and crossed to 
the American side, in the best manner they could. Most of the sea- 
men, who were not killed, got back, by means of their professional 
knowledge ; but Captain King, and several officers of the army, 
with 00 men, fell into the enemy's hands, in consequence of not hav- 
in-'r the means ofrei^reat. The attack of Colonel Boerstlersucceeded, 
in a great degree, and his party was brought oft'. 

Although this affair appears to have been very confused, the fighting 
was of the most desperate character. The imprecision made by the 
seamen with their pikes, was long remembered, and their loss was 
equal to their gallantry. The enemy was effectually beaten, and 
nothing but a misunderstanding, which is said to have grown out of 
the fact that the boats which did not come ashore at all, were sup- 
posed to have landed and then retreated, prevented the attack from 
being completely successful. Still, the batteries were carried, guns 
spiked, barracks burned, and caissons destroyed. 

Owing to the nature of the service and the great steadiness of the 
enemy, who behaved extremely well, this struggle was exceedingly 
sanguinary. Of twelve sea-officers engaged, eight were wounded, two 
of them mortally. The entire loss of the party was about 30 in killed 
and wounded, which was quite half of all who landed, though some 
were hurt who did not reach the shore. The troops behaved in the 
most gallant manner also, and many of their officers were wounded. 
Both Mr. Angus and Captain King, gained great credit for their 
intrepidity.* 

* Mr. Anirus, the only commissioned sea-officer present, ■was also hurt by a severe blow 
in the head, from the butt of a musket, thouch not reported among the wounded. Messrs. 
Sisson and Watts, sailincr-masiers, died of their wounds. Mr. Carter, another master, 
was wouiiiliid. Of tbemid.shipmen, Mr. Wragg, since dead, was wounded in the abdo- 



1812.] NAVAL HISTORY. 159 

As none of the great lakes are safe to navigate in December, this 
closed the naval warfare for the year, though botli nations prepared 
to turn the winter months to the best account, while the coasts were 
ice-bound. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Thcne'w ship Madison launched at Sackctt's Harbour — Two ships laid down at Fresque 
Isle — Launch of the Ladj- of the Lake — Embarkation of the squadron under Com. 
Chauncey — Attack on York (Toronto) — its reduction — General Pike killed — Capture 
of the schooner Duke of Gloucester, and a vessel of twenty guns (nearly finished) de- 
stroyed — Attack on Fort George — Retreat of the enemy — Evacuation of the Niagara 
Ironlier by the British. 

Both yarties employed the winter of 1812-13 in building. In the 
course of the autumn, the Americans had increased their force to 
eleven sail, ten of which were the small schooners bought from the 
merchants, and fitted with gun-boat armaments, without quarters. 
In addition to the vessels already named, were the Ontario, Scourge, 
Fair American and Asp. Neither of the ten was fit to cruise; and 
an ordinary eighteen-gun brig ought to have been able to cojie with 
them all, in a good working breeze, at close quarters. At long shot, 
however, and in smooth water, they were not vrithout a certain effi- 
ciency. As was proved in the end, in attacking batteries, and in 
covering descents, they were even found to be exceedingly ser- 
viceable. 

On the 2Gth of November, the new ship was launched at Sackett's 
Harbour, and was called the Madison. She was pierced for 24 guns, 
and her metal was composed of thirty -two-pound carronades, ren- 
dering her a little superior to the Royal George. Nine weeks before 
this ship was put into the water, her timber was growing in the forest. 
This unusual exp'?dition, under so many unfavourable circumstances, 
is to be ascribed to the excellent dispositions of the commanding offi- 
cer, and to the clear head, and extraordinary resources of Mr. Henry 
Eckford, the builder employed, whose professional qualities proved 
to be of the highest order. 

men by a bayonet ; Mr. Graham, no-w Commander Graham, lost a leg ; Mr. Holdup, 
late Captain Holdup-Stevens, was shot through the head; Mr. Brailesford, since 
dead, was shot through the leg ; and Mr. Mervine, now Captain Mervine, received 
a musketball in the side. Mr. Dudley, since dead, went through the whole aft'airunhurt, 
though much exposed. 

Messrs. Dudley, Holdup, and Wragg remained in Canada to the close of the fighting. 
These three young gentlemen, neither of whom was yet twenty, met at the water side 
about daybreak, and got into a leaky canoe, which Mr. Dudley brought out of a creek. 
The latter made two paddies of rails, by means of a battle-axe. and taking in three 
wounded seamen, and nvo that were unhurt, they put off from the Eughsh shore. Not- 
withstanding they bailed with their hats, the canoe sunk under them, close to Squaw 
Island. Here they dragged their wounded men a.shorc, got the canoe emptied, hauled 
her round to the American side, and made a fresh effort to cross, in which they succeeded, 
though the canoe vi'as nearly filled again before they reached the shore. One of the 
wounded men died ju.st as the party landed. 



160 NAVAL HISTORY. [I8l3. 

On the other hand, the enemy laid the keel of a ship a little larj^er 
than the Madison, which would have effectually secured the com- 
mand of the lake, notwithstanding the launching- of the latter, as their 
small vessels were altogether superior to those of the Americans ; and 
the Royal George was perhaps strong enough to engage two brigs 
ofthe force of the Oneida. It became necessary, therefore to lay 
down a new ship at Sackett's Harbour, and for this purpose a fresh 
gang of shipwrights went up in February. 

About this time, the enemy made choice of Captain Sir James 
Lucas Yeo, to command on the American lakes. This officer had 
lately been wrecked in the Southampton 82, and possessed a high 
reputation for spirit and conduct. So much importance was attached 
to the control of these waters, that great care was had in the selec- 
tion ofthe officers who were to command on them. So sensible were 
both belligerents, indeed, of the necessity of struggling for the su- 
periority, that each side appeared to anticipate an attack in the 
course ofthe winter, and it is known that one was actually meditated 
on the part ofthe Americans. 

In the month of March, however. Commodore Chauncey'proposed 
to the government an attack on York, (now Toronto,) instead ofthe 
one that had been contemplated on Kingston, giving such forcible 
reasons for changing the plan, that his advice was followed. It 
ap))ears that the enemy had committed the fault of using two different 
ports for building, by which mistake he necessarily exposed himself 
to the risk of an attack against divided means of defence. As it 
might give the command of the lake, for some months at least, to 
destroy a single vessel of any size, the wisdom ofthe plan proposed 
by the American naval commander will be seen at a glance. 

In the meantime, preparations were made for constructing a force 
on Lake Erie, two brigs having been laid down at Presque Isle, 
(now Erie,) during the month of March. But the fact that nearly 
the whole of the American side of this frontier was scarcely more 
than a wilderness, as well as that many of the roads wliich existed 
were little better than passages among- marked trees, and during the 
spring and autumn wei'e nearly impassable, rendered all the orders 
ofthe government exceedingly difficult to execute, and greatly retarded 
the preparations. To add to the embarrassments, it was found that 
men transported from the sea coast to those ofthe lakes, were liable 
to contract a debilitating fever, more especially when exposed, as 
those necessarily were who had no regular dwellings to receive them. 

Fresh parties of seamen began to arrive at Kingston in March, 
where the new ship was fast getting ready. 

On the 6th of A])ril, Mr. Eckford put into the water, on the Ame- 
rican side, a beautiful little pilot-boat schooner, that was intended 
for a look-out and despatch vessel. She was armed with merely one 
long brass nine on a pivot, and was called the Lady ofthe Lake. 
Two days later, the keel of the new ship was laid. She was con- 
siderably larger than the Madison. 

About the middle of the month, the lake was considered safe to 
navigate, and on the 19th, the squadron was reported ready for active 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 161 

service. On the22d, accordingly, General Dearborn caused a body 
of 1700 men to be embarked, and on the 24th, owinnf to the impa- 
tience of the army, which suflered much by being crowded into small 
vessels, an attempt was made to get out. The commodore, however, 
agreeably to his own expectations, was obliged to return, it blowing 
a gale. These few days had a very injurious effect on the health 
of both branches of the service, as there was not sufficient room for 
the men to remain below, and on deck they were exposed to the 
inclemency of the season. The Madison alone, a mere sloop of 
war, had 600 souls in her, including her own people. On the 25th, 
however, the squadron, consisting of the Madison, Lieutenant Com- 
mandant Elliott, Commodore Chauncey; Oneida, Lieutenant Com- 
mandant Woolsey; Fair American, Lieutenant Chauncey ; Hamil- 
ton, Lieutenant M'Pherson ; Governor Tompkins, Lieutenant Brown; 
Conquest, Mr. Mallaby; Asp, Lieutenant Smith; Pert, Lieutenant 
Adams; Julia, Mr. Trant; Grov/ler, Mr. Mix ; Ontario, Mr. Ste- 
vens; Scourge, Mr. Osgood; Lady of the Lake, Mr. Flinn ; and 
Raven, transport, got out, and it arrived off York, on the morning , 
of the 2oth, without loss of any sort. All the vessels ran in and 
anchored about a mile from the shore, to the southward and west- 
ward of the principal fort. 

Great steadiness and promptitude were displayed in effecting a land- 
ing. The wind was blowing fresh from the eastward, but the boats 
were hoisted out, manned, and received the troops, with so much 
order, that in two hours from the commencement of the disembarka- 
tion, the whole brigade was on shore, under the command of Brigii- 
dier General Pike. The wind drove the boats to leeward ofthe place 
that had been selected for the landing, which was a clear field, to a 
point where the Indians and sharp shooters of the enemy had a 
cover ; but the advance party was thrown ashore with great gallantry, 
and it soon cle-ared the bank and thickets, with a loss of abo^t 40 
men. This movement was covered by a rapid discharge of grape 
from the vessels. As soon as a sufficient number of ti'oops had got 
ashore, they were formed by General Pike in person, who moved on 
to the assault. The small vessels now beat up, under a brisk fire 
from the fort and batteries, until they had got within six hundred 
yards of the principal work, when they opened vvith effect on the 
enemy, and contributed largely to the success ofthe day. The com- 
modore directed the movements in person, pulling in his gig, and 
encouraging his officers by the coolness with which he moved about, 
under the enemy's fire. There never was a disembarkation more 
successful, or more spiritedly made, considering the state of the 
weather, and the limited means ofthe assailants. In effecting this 
service, the squadron had two midshipmen slain, and 15 men killed 
and wounded, mostly while employed in the boats. After sustaining 
some loss by an explosion tlnit killed Brigadier General Pike, the 
troops so far carried the place, that it capitulated. It remained in 
peaceable possession of the Americans until the 1st of May, when 
it was evacuated to proceed on other duty. 

The capture of York was attended with many important results, 



162 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

that fully established the wisdom of the enterprise. Altliough the 
Prince Regent, the thii-d vessel of the enemy, escaped, by havinsr 
sailed on the 24th for Kingston, the Duke of Gloucester, which had 
been undergoing repairs, fell into the hands of the Americans. A 
vessel of twenty guns, that was nearly finished, was burnt, and a large 
amount of naval and military stores were also destroyed. A very 
considerable quantity of the latter, however, was saved, shipped, and 
sent to Sackett's Harbour. Many boats that had been built for the 
transportation of troops were also taken. In the entire management 
of this handsome exploit, the different vessels appear to have been 
well conducted, and they contributed largely to the complete success 
which crowned the enterprise. 

Although the brigade re-embarked on the 1st of May, the squad- 
ron was detained at York until the 8th, by a heavy adverse gale of 
wind. The men were kept much on deck for more than a week, 
and the exposure produced many cases offever, in both branches of 
the service. More than a hundred of the sailors were reported ill, 
. and the brigade, which had lost 269 men in the attack, the wounded 
included, was now reduced to about 1000 effectives, by disease. As 
soon as the weather permitted, the commanding naval and army 
officers crossed in the Lady of the Lake, and selected a place for an 
encampment about four miles to the eastward of Fort Niagara, when 
the vessels immediately followed and the troops disembarked. 

As soon as released from this great incumbrance on his move- 
ments. Commodore Chauncey sailed for the Harbour, with a view 
to obtain supplies, and to bring up reinforcements for the army. A 
few of the schooners remained near the head of the lake, but the 
greater part of the squadron went below, where it arrived on the 11th. 
The small vessels were now employed in conveying stores and troops 
to the division under General Dearborn, which was reinforcing fast 
by arrivals from different directions. 

On the 15th of this month the enemy had advanced so far with his 
new ship, which was called the Wolfe, as to have got in her lower 
masts, and expedition became necessary, an action for the command 
of the lake being expected, as soon as this vessel was ready to come 
out. On the I6th, 100 men were sent to the upper lakes, where 
Captain Perry, then a young master and commander, had been 
ordered to assume the command, some months previously. Oa the 
22d, the Madison, with the commodore's pennant still flying in her, 
embarked 3.50 troops, and sailed for the camp to the eastward of the 
mouth of the Niagara, where she arrived and disembarked the men 
on the 25th. The Fair American, Lieutenant Cliauncey, and Pert, 
Acting Lieutenant Adams, were immediately ordered down to watch 
the movements of the enemy at Kingston, and preparations were 
made, without delay, for a descent on Fort George. On the 2Gth 
Commodore Chauncey reconnoitred the enemy's coast, and his posi- 
tion, and that night he sounded his sliore, in person, laying buoys for 
the government of the movements of the small vessels, which it was 
intended to send close in. The weather being more favourable, the 
Madison, Oneida, and Lady of the Lake, which could be of no use 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 163 

in the meditated attack, on account of their armaments, received on 
board all the heavy artillery of the army, and as many troops as 
they could carry, while the rest of the soldiers embarked in boats. 

At 3 A. 31., on the 27th of May, the signal was made to weigh, 
and the army having all previously embarked, at 4 the squadron stood 
towards the Niagara. As the vessels approached the point of dis- 
embarkation, the wind so far failed, as to compel the small vessels to 
employ their sweeps. The Growler, Mr. Mix, and Julia, Mr. Trant, 
swept into the mouth of the river, and opened on a battery near the 
lighthouse. The Ontario, Mi: Stevens, anchored more to the north- 
ward to cross their fire. The Hamilton, Lieutenant M'Pherson, the 
Asp, Lieutenant Smith, and the Scourge, Mr. Osgood, were directed 
to stand close in, to cover the landing, to scour the woods, or any 
point where the enemy might show himself, with grape-shot; while 
the Governor Tompkins, Lieutenant Brown, and Conquest, Lieuten- 
ant Pettigrew, were sent farther to the westward to attack a battery 
that mounted one heavy gun. 

Captain Perry had come down from the upper lake on the evening 
of the 2oth, and on this occasion was the sea-officer second in rank, 
present. Commodore Chauncey confided to him the duty of attend- 
ing to the disembarkation of the troops. The marines of the squad- 
ron were embodied with the regiment of Colonel Macondi, and 400 
seamen held in reserve, to land, if necessary, under the immediate 
orders of the commodore in person. 

When all was ready, the schooners swept into their stations, in the 
handsomest manner, opening their fire with eftect. The boats that 
contained the advance party, under Colonel Scott, were soon in mo- 
tion, taking a direction towards the battery near Two Mile Creek, 
against which the Governor Tompkins and Conquest had been 
ordered to proceed. The admirable manner in which the first of 
these two little vessels was conducted, drew the applause of all who 
witnessed it, on Mr. Brown and his people. This oflicer swept into 
his station, under fire, in the steadiest nmnncr, anchored, furled his 
sails, cleared his decks, and i)repared to engage, with as much cool- 
ness and method, as if comingto in a friendly port. He then opened 
with his long gun, with a precision that, in about ten minutes, lite- 
rally drove the enemy from the battery, leaving the place to his dead. 
The boats dashed in, under Captain Perry, and Colonel Scott 
effected a landing with the steadiness and gallantry for which that 
officer is so distinguished. The enemy had concealed a strong party 
in a ravine, and he advanced to repel the boats, but the grape and 
the cannister of the schooners, and the steady conduct of the troops, 
soon drove liim back. The moment the command of Colonel Scott 
got ashore, the success of the day was assured. He was sustained 
by the remainder of the brigade to which he belonged then com- 
manded by Brigadier General Boyd, and after a short but sharp con- 
flict, the enemy was driven from the field. The landing was made 
about 9 A. M., and by 12 M. the town and fort were in quiet posses- 
sion of the Americans, the British blowing up and evacuating the 
latter, and retreating towards Queenston. 



164 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

In this handsome affair, in which the dutj of the vessels was per- 
formed with coohiess and method, the navy had but one man killed 
and two wounded. So spirited indeed, was the manner in which the 
whole duty was conducted, that the assailants generally suffered 
much less than the assailed, a circumstance that is, in a great meas- 
ure, to be ascribed to the good conduct of the coverinsr vessels. 
General Dearborn reported his loss, on this occasion, at only i7 
killed and 45 wounded, while he puts that of the enemy at 90 killed, 
and 160 wounded, most of whom were regular troops. One hundred 
prisoners were also made. 

Both the commanding general, and the commanding sea-officer, 
spoke in the highest terms of the conduct of the naval force employed 
in the descent on Fort George. General Dearborn admitted the 
extent of his obligations to Commodore Chauncey for the excellent 
dispositions he had made for landing the troops, always a service of 
delicacy and hazard, and his judicious aiTangemenls for silencing 
the batteries, under the fire of which it was necessary to approach 
the shore. The trifling amount of the loss, is the best evidence how 
much these thanks were merited. Commodore Chauncey himself 
commended all under his orders, though he felt it due to their especial 
services, particularly to mention Captain Perry, and Lieutenant 
M'Pherson. Lieutenant Brown, of the Governor Tompkins, was 
signally distinguished, though his name, from some accident, was 
omitted in the despatches. 

The occupation of Fort George brought with it an evacuation by 
the British of the whole Niagara frontier. Lieutenant Colonel Pres- 
ton took possession of Fort Erie on the evening of the 28th, and the 
entire river, for the moment, was left at the command of the vVmeri- 
cans. By this success, the squadron obtained the temporary use of 
another port, Commodore Chauncey running into the Niagara and 
anchoring, on the afternoon of the 27th. Captain Perry was imme- 
diately despatched above the falls, with a small party of seamen, to 
carry up five vessels that had been purchased, or captured, and which 
it had not been practicable, hitherto, to get past the enemy's batteries. 
This duty was performed during the first days of June, though not 
without infinite labour, as it was found necessary to track the differ- 
ent vessels by the aiil of oxen, every inch of the way, against the 
strong current of the Niagara, a party of soldiers lending their assis- 
tance. By the close of the month, that zealous officer had got them 
all across the lake to Presque Isle, where the two brigs, laid down 
early in the spring, had been launched in the course of May, though 
their equipment proceeded very slowly, from the state of the roads 
and a want of men. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 165 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The enemy effect a landing on Horse Island — Under Sir George Prevost, they attack 
Sackett's Harbour — and are repulsed, with loss — Launch of the General Pike — Promo- 
tions in the navy — Captures by the enemy on Lake Champiain — Depredations at 
Plattsburgh — Captureof the Lady Murray, with military stores — Movements of the 
enemy on Lake Ontario — The American squadron makes a second attack on York — 
Ineffectual attempts to meet the enemy — Loss of the Hamilton and Scourge in a siiuall 
— Capture of the Growler and Julia— Notice of Mr. Trant. 

While these important movements were in the course of execu- 
tion near the western end of the hike, others of equal magnitude 
were attempted near its eastern. The descent on Fort George took 
place on the 27th of May, and ahnost at the same moment. Sir George 
Prevost, the British Commander-in-chief and Commodore Sir J. L. 
Yeo. meditated a coup de main against Sackett's Harbour, in revenge 
for the blow they had received at York. By destroying the new ship, 
Commodore Yeo would most probably secure a superiority on the 
lake for the remainder of the season, the Americans having no cruis- 
ing vessel but the Madison, fit to lie against the Wolfe or Royal 
George. 

On the mornino- of the 2Sth of Blay, the Wolfe, Royal George, 
JVPoira, Prince Regent, S'imcoe, and Sr,iieca, with two gun-boats, 
and a strong brigade of barges and flat-bottomed boats, appeared off 
Sackett's Harbour. When about two leagues from the shore, a 
considerable party of troops was placed in the boats, and the whole 
squadron bore up, with a view to land ; but their attention was 
diverted by the appearance to the westward of a brigade containing 
nineteen boats, which were transporting troops to the Harbour. 
The enemy immediately sent his own barges in pursuit, and suc- 
ceeded in driving twelve boats on shore, and in capturing them, 
though not until they had been abandoned by the Americans. The 
remaining seven got into the Harbour. Hoping to intercept another 
party, the enemy now hauled to the westward, and sent his boats 
ahead to lie in wait, and the intention to disembark that afternoon 
was abandoned. 

As the day dawned, on the morning of the 29th, a strong division 
of barges, filled with troops, and covered by the two gun-boats, was 
seen advancing upon Horse Island, a peninsula at a short distance 
from the village of Sackett's Harbour. A body of about 800 men 
effected a landing, accompanied by Sir George Prevost in person, 
and an irregular and desultory, but spirited engagement took place. 
At first, the enemy drove all before him, and he advanced quite near 
the town, but being met by a detachment of regulars, he was driven 
back with loss, and compelled to abandon his enterprise. 

In this affair, had the enemy's vessels done as good service as the 
American vessels performed near the Niagara, the result might have 
been different ; but, though some of them swept up pretty near the 
shore, they were of no assistance to the troops. Unfortunately false 



166 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 



information was given to the sea-officer in cRarge of the store-houses, 
and he set fire to them, by which mistake, not onlj most of the 
stores taken at York, but many that had come from the sea-board 
were consumed. But for this accident, the enemy would iiave had 
no consolation for his defeat. 

Information reached Commodore Chauncey on the SOih of May, 
that the enemy was out, and he immediately got under way from the 
Niagara, looked into York, then ran off Kingston, but falling in 
with nothing, he crossed to the Harbour, where he anchored ; being 
satisfied that the English squadron had returned to port. 

Every exertion was now made to get the new ships afloat, Com- 
modore Chauncey rightly thinking he should not be justified in 
venturing an action with his present force. Although he iiad four- 
teen sail of vessels, which mounted altogether S:2 guns, but two had 
quarters, or were at all suited to close action. As both the Madison 
and Oneida had been constructed for a very light draught of water, 
neither was weatherly, though the former acquitted herself respect- 
ably ; l)ut the latter was dull on all tacks, and what might not have 
been expected from her construction, particularly so before the wind. 
The schooners were borne down witli metal, and could be of no 
great service except at long shot. On the other hand, all the ene- 
my's vessels had quarters, most of them drew more water, relatively, 
and held a better wind than the Americans, and as a whole they 
were believed to mount about the same number of guns. In the 
way of metal the English large ships were decidedly superior to the 
two largest American vessels, mounting some sixty-eight-pound 
carronades among their other guns. 

The keel of the new ship had been laid on the 9th of April, and 
she was got into the water June l;Jth, notwithstanding Mr. Eckford 
had been compelled to take off his carpenters to make some altera- 
tions on the vessels in the Niagara. This ship was a large corvette, 
and was pierced for 26 guns, long twenty-fours, and she mounted 
two more on circles ; one on a topgallant forecastle, and the other on 
the poop. The day before the launch. Captain Sinclair arrived and 
was appointed to this vessel, which was called the General Pike. 
Lieutenant Trenchard, who jirrived at the same time, received the 
command of the Madison. About this time a consideralile promo- 
tion occurred in the navy, by means of wliich. Captain Sinclair was 
posted. Mr. Woolsey, Mr. Trenchard, and Mr. Elliott, all of whom 
served on the lakes, were raised to the rank of masters and com- 
manders, though several weeks elapsed before the commissions were 
received. Messrs. Holdup, Dudley, Packett, Yarnall, Wragg, 
Adams, Pearce, Edwards, .Jones, Conklin, and Smith, gentlemen 
who had also been detached for this service, and most of whom had 
been actinir, were regularly raised to the rank of lieutenants. It 
was, iiowever, a just cause of complaint, with all the commanders on 
the different lakes, that so few officers of experience were sent to 
serve under them. Most of the gentlemen just named had been to 
sea but four or five years, and they were generally as young in years 
as they were in experience. That they subsequently acquitted them- 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 167 

selves well, is owing to the high tone of the service to wliii;h they 
belonged. 

Although the Pike was so near completion, there were neither 
officers nor men for her, on the station ; and the canvass intended 
for her sails hud been principally burned during the late attack on 
the Harbour. At this time, moreover, while the service pressed, but 
120 men had been sent on lake Erie, Commodore Chauncey having 
entertained hopes of being able to reinforce that station from below, 
after defeating the enemy. 

On Lake Champlain two cutters, or sloops, named the Eagle and 
the Growler were equipped early in the war, and were first ])laced 
under the orders of Lieutenant Sidney Smith. Before the close of 
the season, however. Lieutenant Thomas M'Donough, an officer 
already well known to the service for his spirit and experience, and 
who fought side by side with Decatur, in all that officer's brilliant 
achievements, before Tripoli, was sent up to assume the command. 
This was so late in the year, however, as to prevent much active 
service before the vessels were obliged to go into winter quarters. 

In the course of the winter of 1812-13, another sloop, named the 
President, was transferred from the transport service of the army, to 
the navy. Thus reinforced, M'Donough took the lake early in the 
spring, commanding the President in person, and having the Growler, 
Lieutenant Smith, and Eagle, Mr. Loomis, in company. Returning 
to Burlington in May of this year, from some service up the lake, 
Captain ftl'Donough learned that a small British vessel, mounting 
one o'un, had ascended as high as Plattsburg, on the other shore, 
committing depredations as she proceeded. In consequence of this 
intelligence, the Growler and Eagle, under Lieutenant Smith, were 
immediately ordered down as low as Champlain, in order to close 
the passage against any more such excursions. 

The two sloops reached their station on the evening of the 2d 
June. It blowing a good southerly breeze next morning. Lieuten- 
ant Smith got under way at 3, and stood down into tlie narrow 
waters, in the expectation of finding some of the enemy's row galleys 
at Ash Island. Disappointed in this, the Growler continued to lead 
down the lake, until she came in sight of the works on Isle aux Noix, 
about seven o'clock. The Growler now tacked, and began to beat 
back towards the open lake, having the wind from the same quar- 
ter, but light. There was also an adverse current so near the outlet 
of the lake. 

As soon as the enemy was aware of the advantage of these circum- 
stances, three of their row galleys came out from under the works, 
and oi)ened their fire, each galley carrying a long 24. The guns of 
the two American vessels were so light as to give the heavy metal of 
the iralleys, a great superiority, it being impossible to come to close 
quarters without running within the range of the fire of the batteries. 
To render the situation of the sloops still more critical, the troops of 
the enemy now lined the woods on each side of the lake, and opened 
on the sloops with musketry. This fire was returned with constant 



168 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

discharges of grai)e and caniiister, by Americans, and itwas thought 
with some eftect on the soldiery. 

In this manner the combat continued for several hours, until half 
past 12, a heavy shot from the galleys struck the Eagle under her 
starboard quarter, and passed out on the other side, ripping off a 
whole plank under water. The sloop went down almost immediately. 
Fortunately the water was so shoal, where she was at the moment, 
that her bulwarks remained on one side, above water, and the 
wounded were got on them, and remained in safety until taken oif 
by boats sent from the enemy. Soon after this accident occurred to 
the Eagle, the Growler had iier fore-stay and main-boom shot away, 
when she became unmanageable, and ran ashore. Of course, this 
vessel was also compelled to strike. 

Although Lieutenant Smith made a great mistake in trusting two 
vessels of that force, in so narrow a passage, with a foul wind and a 
current against his retreat, his defence was gallant, and highly cred- 
itable to the service. The Growler had 1 killed and 8 wounded, and 
the Eagle 11 wounded, Mr. Graves, the pilot, severely. 

In consequence of this loss, the two vessels mentioned were trans- 
ferred from the American to the British flotilla, and in August they 
appeared oft' Burlington, accompanied by three gun-boats, and 
several batteaux ; the President, Captain M'Donough then lying there, 
but unable to go out, as this vessel now constituted the whole Amer- 
ican force. The enemy destroyed some stores, and captured several 
small trading craft that fell in with his way. He also threw a few 
shot into the town. This expedition was commanded by Captain 
Everard. 

The Americans now commenced building, and purchasing, as on 
the other lakes, and by the end of the season had made some progress 
towards attaining a force likely to secure to them, again, the com- 
mand of the lake. 

In the mean time, the efforts on Ontario continued. One of the 
small vessels was constantly kept cruising between the Ducks and 
Kingston, to watch the enemy, it being known that he was now much 
superior in force. Early in June, the British squadron went up the 
lake, most probably to transport troops, quitting port in the night ; 
but Commodore Chauncey very properly decided that the important 
interests confided to his discretion required that he should not follow 
it, until he was reinforced by the accession of the Pike, to get which 
vessel ready, every possible exertion was making. 

On the 14th of June, the Lady of the Lake, Lieutenant W. 
Chauncey, left the harbour to cruise off" Presque Isle, to intercept 
the stores of the enemy ; and on the 16th, she captured the schooner 
Lady Murrav, loaded with provisions, shot, and fixed ammunition. 
This vessel was in charge of an ensign and 15 men, the prisoners 
amounting, in all, to twenty-one. Mr. Chauncey carried his prize 
into the iiarbour on the 18th, passing quite near the enemy's squad- 
ron. The |)risoners reported the launch of a new brig at Kingston. 

About this time, the enemy's squadron, consisting of the Wolfe, 
Royal George, Moira, Melville, Berresford, Sidney Smith, and one 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 169 

or two gun-boats, appeared off Oswego. Preparations were made 
to disembark a party of troops, but the weather becoming threaten- 
ing, Sir James Yeo was induced to defer the descent, and stood to 
the westward. He then went off the Genesee, where some provi- 
sions were seized and carried away, and a descent was made at Great 
Sodus, witli a similar object, but whicli failed, though several build- 
ings were burned, and some flour was captured. Shortly before, he 
had appeared off the coast, to the westward of the Niagara, seizing 
some boats belonging to the army, loaded with stores. Two vessels, 
similarly employed, were also captured. 

On the 23d of June, 14 of the guns, and a quantity of the rigging 
for the Pike, reached the harbour; and the next day, Commodore 
Chauncey advised the government to commence building a large fast- 
sailing schooner. This recommendation was followed, and the keel 
of a vessel that was subsequently called the Sylph, was soon after 
laid, her size being determined by the nature of the materials neces- 
sary for her equipment, which were principally on the spot. 

It was the last of June before the people began to arrive for the 
Pike ; the first draft, consisting of only 35 men, reaching the harbour 
on the 29th of that month. These were followed, on the 1st of July, 
by 94 more, from Boston. It was thought, by the assistance of the 
army, that the ship might be got out, with the aid of these men. In 
estimating the embarrassments of the lake service, in general, the 
reluctance of the sailors of the country to serve on those waters should 
not be overlooked. The stations were known to be sickly, the ser- 
vice was exceedingly arduous, several winter months were to be 
passed, under a rigorous climate, in harbours that had none of the 
ordinary attractions of a seaport, and the chances for prize-money 
were too insignificant to enter into the account. At this ])eriod in the 
history of the navy, the men were entered for particular ships, and 
not for the general service, as at present ; and it would have been 
nearly impossible to procure able seamen for this unpopular duty, 
had not the means been found to induce parts of crews to follow their 
ofticers from the Atlantic coast, as volunteers. A considerable party 
had been sent from the Constitution, to Lake Ontario, after her return 
from the coast of Brazil, and the arrival of a portion of the crew of 
the John Adams, on Lake Erie, has already been mentioned. On 
the 8th of July, Captain Crane arrived from the same ship ; and two 
days later, he was followed by all the officers and men of that vessel, 
for which a new crew had been enlisted. This timely reinforcement 
was assigned, in a body, to the Madison, that ship being nearly of the 
size and force of the vessel from which they came. 

On the afternoon of the 1st of July, however, or previously to this 
important accession to his force, a deserter came in and reported that 
Sir James Yeo had left Xiingston the previous night, in 20 large 
boats, with a body of 800 or 1000 men, with which he had crossed 
and landed in Chaumont Bay, about seven miles from the Harbour. 
Here he had encamped in the woods, concealing his boats with the 
branches of trees, with an inte^ition to make an attack on the Amer- 
ican squadron, in the course of the approaching night. Preparations 



170 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

were accordingly made to receive the expected assault, but the ene- 
my did not appear. On the following morning, Commodore 
Chauncey went out with the vessels that were ready, and examined 
the shore, but the enemy could not be found. At sunset he returned, 
and moored the vessels in readiness for the attack. Still no enemy 
appeared. That night and tlie succeeding day, five more deserters 
came in, all corroborating each other's account, by which it would 
seem that the expedition was abandoned on the night of the 1st, in 
consequence of tlie desertion of the man who had first come in. At 
this time, the Pike had IG of her guns mounted ; and there is little 
doubt that Commodore Yeo would have been defeated, had he per- 
sisted in his original intention. By July 3d, the remainder of her 
armament had reached the harbour. 

Soon after. Commodore Chauncey felt himself strong enough to 
despatch 130 men, with the necessary officers, to the upper lakes; 
and permission was given to Captain Perry to commence his opera- 
tions against the enemy, as soon as that officer should deem it prudent. 
Still a proportion of the men present, that varied from a tenth to a 
fifth of their whole number, was reported on the sick list ; anionjr 
whom were Captain Sinclair, of the Pike, all the lieutenants of that 
ship but one, and 60 of her people. 

On the 21st of July, the Madison, Captain Crane, went oft'Kings- 
ton, communicating with the commodore by signal, who remained 
at anchor in the Pike, which ship was getting ready as fast as possi- 
ble. The same evening the latter went out, accompanied by the 
squadron, running over to the north shore, and then steered to the 
westward. The winds were light, and the vessels did not arrive oflf 
the mouth of the Niagara, until the 27th. Here a small body of 
troops was embarked under Colonel Scott, and the squadron pro- 
ceeded to the head of the lake, with a view to make a descent at 
Burlington Bay. After landing the troops and marines, and recon- 
noitering. Colonel Scott believed the enemy to be too strong, and too 
well posted, for the force under his command; and on the 30th, the 
vessels weiijhed and ran down to York. Here Colonel Scott landed 
without opposition, and got possession of the place. A considei-abie 
quantity of provisions, particularly flour, was seized, five pieces of 
cannon were found, some shot and powder were brought off, and 11 
boats, built to transport troops, were destroyed. Some barracks, 
and other public buildings, were burned. The troops re-embarked 
on the 1st of August, and on the 3d they were disembarked again, 
in the Niagara. The next day. Lieutenant Elliott, with Messrs. 
Smith and Conklin, eight midshipmen, and 100 men, were landed 
and sent up to Lake Erie, to report themselves to Captain Perry. 
This draft greatly deranged the crew of the Pike, her men requiring 
to be stationed anew, after it had been made. 

At daylight, on the morning of the 7th, while at anchor off the 
mouth of the Niagara, the enemy's squadron, consisting of two ships, 
Uvo brigs, and two large schooners, were seen to the northwest, and 
to windward, distant about six miles. The American vessels imme- 
diately weighed, and endeavoured to obtain the weather gage, the 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 171 

construction of a large portion of the force rendering this advantage 
important in a general action. At this time, Commodore Chauncey 
had present the Pike, Madison, Oneida, Hamilton, Scourge, Ontario, 
Fair American, Governor Tompkins, Conquest, Julia, Growler, Asp, 
and Pert, or thirteen sail. Of this force, the three vessels first named, 
were all that had been regularly constructed for the purpose of war. 
The rest had no quarters, as has been already mentioned, mounting 
one or two guns on circles, and, in a few instances, five or six others 
in broadside. The schooners could scarcely have been fought with 
prudence, within reach of canister, as the men were exposed from 
their feet upwards. On the other hand, the six vessels of the enemy 
had all been constructed for war, had close quarters, and their 
schooners had regular sea armaments. This difference in the char- 
acter of the respective forces, rendered it difficult to bring on an 
action, as neither party would be willing to engage under circum- 
stances that were disadvantageous to its particular species of arma- 
ment. The size of the lake, which at first view might seem to render 
it difficult to avoid a combat, was in truth in favour of such a design ; 
the distances being so small, that the retiring party, under ordinary 
circumstances, would have it in his power to gain a harbour, before 
its enemy could close. Both commanders, it is now understood, 
acted under very rigid instructions, it being known that the fortune 
of the northern war, in a great measure, depended on the command 
of this lake, and neither party was disposed to incur any undue risks 
of losing the chance to obtain it. 

On the present occasion, however, Commodore Chauncey was 
anxious to bring the enemy to battle, feeling a sufficient confidence 
in his officers and men to believe they would render his mixed and 
greatly divided force sufficiently available. The principal advantage 
of the enemy was in the identity of character that belonged to his 
squadron, which enabled him to keep it in compact order, and to 
give it concentrated and simultaneous evolutions, while the move- 
ments of the best of the American vessels, were necessarily controlled 
by those of their worst. In short the manoeuvring of the American 
squadron, throughout this entire summer, furnishes an illustration 
of that nautical principle to which there has elsewhere been an allu- 
sion, in an attempt to point out the vast importance of preserving an 
equality in the properties of ships. Indeed the Pike and Madison 
alone could compete with vessels of ordinary qualities, the Oneida 
proving to be so dull, that the flag-ship was frequently compelled to 
take her in tow.* 

At 9 A. M. the Pike, having got abreast of the Wolfe, the leading 
vessel of the enemy, hoisted her ensign, and fired a few guns to try 

' Altbou;^li tliis brigliad been regularly constructed for the navy, in the year 1808, and 
her dimensions made her q,bout240 tons, carpenter's measurement, her draught of water 
was not greater than that which would properly belong to a sloop of 80 tons. This was 
owing to a^vish to enable her to enter the rivers of the south shore, nearly all of v\'hich 
have bars. It may be mentioned here, that the Oneida was salted. Mr. Woolsey, 
ascertaining that the schooners employed in the salt trade, between Oswego and Niagara, 
which were commonly built of half seasoned timbei', seldom decayed about the floors, 
had this l?rig filled with salt from her plank-sheer down, and it is understood that she was 
sound many years afterwards. The timber was cut in the forest, moulded, and placed 
in the brig's frame, within the .same month. 



172 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

the range of her shot. Fiadinp; that the latter fell short, she wore 
and hauled to the wind on the other tack, the sternmost of the small 
schooners being then six miles distant. The enemy wore in suc- 
cession, also, and got upon the same tack as the American squadron, 
but ascertaining that the leading vessels of the latter would weather 
upon him, he soon tacked, and hauled off to the northward. As soon 
as the rear of the American line was far enough ahead to fetch his 
wake, signal was made to the squadron to tack once more, and to 
crowd sail in chase. The wind now gradually fell, and about sunset 
it was calm, the schooners using their sweeps to close. As nifht 
approached, the signal of recall was made, in order to collect the 
squadron, there being an apprehension that some of the small ves- 
sels might be cut off. 

In the night the wind came from the westward, and it blew in 
squalls. All the vessels were at quarters, carrying sail to gain the 
wind of the enemy, with a view to engage him in the morning. Not 
long after midniglit, a rushing sound was heard ; and several of the 
vessels felt more or less of a squall ; but the strength of the gust passed 
astern. Soon after it was ascertained that the Hamilton, Lieutenant 
Winter, and Scourge, Mr. Osgood, had disappeared. The Pike 
now spoke the Governor Tompkins, which informed the commodore 
that the missing schooners had capsized in the squall, and that the 
whole of their officers and men, with the exception of sixteen of the 
latter, had been drowned.* 

The American squadron now hove to, and soon after daylight the 
enemy set studding-sails and stood down upon it, apparently with an 
intention to engage. When a little more than a league distant, how- 
ever, he brought by the wind, and the signal was made from the Pike 
to ware, and to bring to on the same tack. After waiting some time 
for the English ships to come down. Commodore Chauncey edged 
away for the land, hoping, by getting the breeze which, at that sea- 
son, usually came off the southern shore, in the afternoon, to obtain 
the weather gage. It fell calm, however, and the schooners were 

* It has been ascertained, by means of an intellis:ent seaman on board the Scourge, of 
the name of Myers, that when the squall struck that vessel, her commander. Mr. Osgood, 
was below, and most of her people asleep at their guns. Myers, himself, had just risen 
from the deck, and was in the act of going below, ^vhen the schooner first felt the wind. 
As the vessel was an EnglLsh prize raised upon, she had always been tender, and re- 
quired the most careful watching. When .she went over, Myers succeeded in passing 
along her weather side, until lie reached the stern, where he threw himself off', and swam 
a few yards until he reached a boat that was towing astern. By means of this boat he 
not only saved him.self, but several more of the crew, all of whom got on board the Julia, 
Mr. Trant, the nearest vessel. Others were picked up by the same boat, which was sent 
to look for the men. 

While Myers stood on the quarter of the Scourge, he saw by a flash of lightning Mr. 
Osgood endeavouring to force his body through a cabin window, and that officer was 
probably drowned in that situation. The schooner went dow^n, v^hile Myers was 
getting into the boat. By what means the painter of the boat was cast off, Myers 
never knew. 

The account which is given of the loss of the Scourge, in a little sketch of the life of this 
old salt, and nearly in tlie words that came from his own mouth, is one of the most inter- 
esting, simple and thrilling narratives in the English language. 

Of the manner in which the Hamilton was lost, no particulars have been preserved, 
though four of her crew also were picked up. It is not now known what became of 
these four men, though three of those saved from the Scourge are yet living, viz : Edward 
Myers, or " Nod Myers," as he is familiarly called, as gallant old tar as ever paced a 
deck, Lemuel Bryant, a pensioner, and Leonard Lewis. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 173 

ordered to sweep up towards the enemy, and to bring lilm to action. 
While the latter were attempting to execute this order, the wind 
came out light at the eastward, when the Pike took the Oneida in 
tow, and stood down towards the enemy. The van of the schooners 
had got within two miles of the English squadron, when the breeze 
suddenly shifted to the westward, giving the latter the advantaiie of 
the wind. Sir James Yeo now bore up, in the expectation of cutting 
off the American small vessels, before the ships could cover them: 
but the former, by freely using their sweeps, soon got into their sta- 
tions again, when the enemy hauled by the wind and hove to. 

It now became squally, and the people having been fit quarters 
nearly two days and nights, and the enemy, who was evidently in- 
disposed to engage, unless on his own terms, possessing a great 
advantage in such weather, as the late accident sufficiently proved. 
Commodore Chauncey ran in, and anchored at the mouth of the 
Niagara. It blew heavy in squalls throughout the night, but the 
enemy being in sight to the northward, at daylight, the squadron 
weighed and stood out after him. Throughout the whole of this day, 
and of the succeeding night, under a succession of squalls, light airs, 
and calms, and constant changes in the direction of the winds, the 
American vessels were endeavouring to close with the enemy, with- 
out success, at daylight, however, on the morning of the 10th, Com- 
modore Chauncey, having taken the precaution to get under the 
north shore, found himseJf to windward, with the enemy bearing S. 
W. The Pike now took the Asp, and the Madison the Fair Ameri- 
can in tow, and the whole squadron kept away, with every prospect 
of forcing the English to engage. About noon, and before the 
squadrons were within gun-shot of each other, the wind shifted tcr 
W. S. W., giving the enemy the weather gage. Throughout the 
day, there was a series of unsuccessful manoeuvres to close and tc* 
gain the wind, but about 5 P. M., the enemy was becalmed under 
the south shore, and the American squadron got a breeze from N. N^ 
W., nearing him fast. At 6, being then distant about four miles, the 
line of battle was formed, though the wind had become very light. 
The vessels continued to close until 7, when a fresh breeze came out 
at S. W., placing the enemy once more to windward. After some 
manoeuvring, the two squadrons were standing to the northwaid, 
with their larboard tacks aboard, under easy canvass, the enemy 
astern and to windward. It being now pretty certain that with 
vessels of qualities so unequal, he could not get the wind of the En- 
glish, while the latter were disposed to avoid it. Commodore Chauncey 
adopted an order of battle that was singularly well adapted to draw 
them down, and which was admirable for its advantages and inge- 
nuity. The American squadron formed in two lines, one to wind- 
ward of the other. The weather line consisted altogether of the 
smallest of the schooners, having in it, in the order in which they are 
named from the van to the rear, the Julia, Growler, Pert, Asp, On- 
tario, and Fair American. The line to leeward contained, in the 
same order, the Pike, Oneida, Madison, Governor Tompkins, and 
Conquest. It was hoped that Sir James Yeo would close with the 

VOL. 11. 11 



174 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

weather line in the course of the night, and, with a view to bring 
him down, the Julia, Growler, Pert, and Asp were directed, after en- 
gaging as long as was prudent, to edge away, and to pass through 
the intervals left between the leading vessels of the line to leeward, 
forming again under their protection, while the Ontario and Fair 
American, were directed to run into the leeward line, and form astern 
of the Conquest. Nothing could have been simpler, or better devised, 
than this order of battle; nor is it possible to say what might have 
been the consequences had circumstances allowed the plan to be 
rigidly observed. 

At half past 10 P. M. the enemy tacked and stood after the Ame- 
rican squadron, keeping to windward of the weather line. At 11, 
the Fair American, the sternmost of the schooners in this line, began 
to fire; and the enemy continuing to draw ahead, in about fifteen 
minutes the action became general between him and the weather 
line. At half past 11 all the schooners engaged bore up, according 
to orders, with the exception of the two in the van, which tacked in 
the hope of gaining the wind of the English ships, instead of waring, 
or bearing up. This unfortunate departure from the order of battle, 
entirely changed the state of things; Sir James Yeo, instead offol- 
lowinfthe schooners down, as had been expected, keeping his wind 
with a view to cut off the two that had separated. Commodore 
Chauncey now filled, and kept away two points, in the hope of draw- 
in"- the enemy from the vessels to windward, but the English ex- 
changed a few shot with the Pike in passing, and continued in pur- 
suit of the trwo schooners. The American squadron immediately 
tacked, and endeavoured to close, with the double view of covering 
their consorts, and of engaging. 

The schooners to windward were the Growler, Lieutenant Deacon, 
and the Jidia, Mr. Trant.* As soon as they obtained a weatherly 
position, they opened on the enemy with their long guns, but were 
soon obliged to make sail, endeavouring to escape by making short 
tacks. After a time, it was ascertained that they were in two fathoms' 
water, and on the enemy's coast. The English squadron was dead 
to leeward, in open order to prevent them from getting off by turning 

* James Trant was a sailing-master in the navy, from the time of its formation, nntil the 
close of the war of 1812. He was an Irishman by birth, and is believed to have come to 
thi.s conntry in 1781, with Captain Barry, in the Alliance 32, or in the passage in which 
that ship captured the Trepassy and Atalanta. At any rate, the journals of the day 
mention that a Mr. Trent, (the manner in which the name is pronounced,) an Irish naval 
volunteer, had accompanied Captain Barry on that occasion. Few persons have given 
rise to more traditions in the .service, than Mr. Trant. His eccentricities were as con- 
spicuous as his nautical peculiarities and his gallantly. His whole life was passed in, or 
about ships, and his prejudices and habits were as thoroughly naval as tliose of Pipes 
himself. For England, and Englishmen, he entertained to the last, the most unyielding 
hatred, which appeared to be associated, in his mind, with wrongs done to Ireland. He 
was usually sni)posed to be a man of obdurate feelings, and of a cruel disposition, but he 
was not without some of the finest traits of human nature. A volume, might be written 
of his eccentricities and opinions. He had been in many actions, and was always re- 
markable for decision and intrepidity. His capture was owing to the latter quality. 
Towards the close of a life that extended to .seventy years, he received the coiuinission 
of a lieutenant, an honour that appeared to console him for all his hardships and dangers. 
He died at Philadelphia, a few years after the war, and is said to have been found with 
pistols under his pillow to lieep off the doctors. It is also said, we know not with what 
truth, that he ordered his body to be carried into blue water, and to be buried in the ocean. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 175 

their wings. An opening existing in the centre, with those of three 
of tlie enemy on each side, it was galhintly attempted to pass throngh 
It, by keeping dead awa}^ This was eftectualJyrunningthe gauntlet; 
as might have been expected, the experiment failed. The Julia led, 
and was cut up and became unmanageable, being actually ran aboard 
and carried in that way; her commander obstinately refusing to haul 
his colours down. The Growler met with a heavier loss than the 
Julia, and being crippled, struck. 

It was the opinion of Commodore Chauncey, that these schooners 
\Vere lost through excess of zeal in their commanders, who thought 
that a general action was about to take place, and that by gaining 
the wind, they might be of more service, than if stationed to leeward. 
The result showed the necessity of complete concert in naval evolu- 
tions, and the virtue of implicit obedience. 

Each of the vessels taken by the enemy, carried two guns, and had 
a crew of about 40 souls. Some damage was done to the sails and 
rigging of the enemy, by the fire of the schooners, but the American 
squadron, the Julia and Growler excepted, received no injury worth 
mentioning. 

The Pike, after carrying sail hard for some time, finding that she 
was separating from the rest of the squadron, and that there was no 
hope of saving the two schooners, rejoined the other vessels, and 
formed the line again. At daylight, the enemy was seen a long way 
to windward, it blowing fresh. The small vessels beginning to la- 
bour excessively, it became necessary to send two of the dullest of 
them into Niagara for security. 

The gale continuing, the commodore now determined to run for the 
Genesee, with the rest of the vessels, but the wind increasing, and 
the Madison and Oneida not having a day's provisions on board, he 
stood for the harbour, where he did not arrive until the 13th, the wind 
failing before he got in. 

It was very evident from the operations of this arduous week, the 
enemy intended to avoid an action, unless it could be brought on 
under circumstances altogether favourable to himself. Although the 
Pike most probably outsailed any thing on the lake, and the Madison 
was nearly, if not quite on an equality with the enemy's best vessels, 
these two ships were unequal to engaging the British squadron alone, 
and the remainder of the American vessels did not deserve to be in- 
cluded in the class of cruisers at all. As a squadron, the English 
force was much faster than the American force, furnishing a com- 
plete example of the manner in which the best ships of a fleet are 
necessarily reduced, in a trial of qualities, to the level of the worst. 
The English were so much aware of the truth of this principle, that 
they declined putting the prizes into their squadron, but after disarm- 
ing them they converted them into transports. 

It is now understood that the species of warfare that Sir James 
Yeo adopted, was cautiously enjoined by his instructions, it being 
very evident that even a protracted struggle was better than positive 
defeat, in the peculiar situation of the Canadas. 



176 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Meeting and fruitless manoeuvring of the hostile squadrons — Launch of the Sylph at 
Sackett's Harbour — Changes and promotions — Unavailing cruise of six days — Escape 
of the enemy in a running fight — Action on the Lake — Chase — The American squad- 
ron haul off for the Niagara — Capture of six British transports — Review of the ope- 
rations. 

The enemy was still building, though his extreme vigilance, and 
a practice of changing the naines of his vessels, rendered it exceed- 
ingly difficult to obtain accurate information of the state of his fleet. 
A line large schooner, superior in size and model to the Oneida, had 
also been laid down at the Harbour, some time previously, and was 
now nearly ready for launching. 

The sickness among the people of the American squadron con- 
tinued, the Madison in particular, having more than a third of her 
crew on the doctor's list, when she sailed on her next cruise. As 
more than 150 men had been taken from the squadron, by the loss 
of the four schooners, and so many were unable to do duty, Commo- 
dore Chauncey on his return to the Harbour, having fallen in witlt 
the Lady of the Lake, carrying a party of 50 marines up to Niagara, 
who were to join Captain Perry on the upper lakes, had taken them 
out for his own vessels, a measure that compelled the latter oflicer to 
obtain volunteers from the army. 

Without waiting for the new vessel, however. Commodore Chaun- 
cey took in provisions for five weeks, and sailed on another cruise 
the very day of his arrival. On the 16th, the squadron was ofi" the 
Niagara, and the same day tlie enemy was made, being eight sail in 
all. Some manoeuvring to obtain the wind followed, but it coming 
on to blow, the vessels ran into the mouth of the Genesee, and an- 
chored. This was another of the evil consequences of having vessels 
like the small schooners in the squadron, a sea little heavier than 
common causing them to labour to a degree that rendered it unsafe 
to keep the lake. The wind, however, freshened so much as to 
compel the whole squadron to weigh and bear up, forcing them 
down the lake under easy canvass. The enemy, it would seem, was 
also driven to leeward, for he was seen at anchor under the False 
Ducks, as those islands came in sight. The Fair American and 
Asp having been sent into the Niagara on duty, the vessels present 
in the American squadron, on this occasion, were the Pike, Madison, 
Oneida, Tompkins, Conquest, Ontario, Pert, and Lady of the Lake; 
the latter having no armament fit for a general engagement. It was 
now expected that the enemy would be willing to engage, and the 
vessels were cleared for action. The wind again shifted, however, 
bringing the English squadron to windward ; but by carrying sail 
hard, the American vessels were weathering on the enemy when the 
latter ran behind the islands, and was believed to have stood into 
Kingston. The gale increasing, and the schooners being actually in 



1813. J NAVAL HISTORY. 177 

danger of foundering, Commodore Cliauncey bore up for the Har- 
bour, where he arrived on the 19th of the month. 

Tlie new vessel had been launched on the 18th, and she was im- 
mediately rigged and named the Sylph. Her armament was peculiar, 
for, in that comparative wilderness, the materials that could be had 
were frequently taken, in the place of those that were desired. Four 
Ion"' thirty-twos were mounted on circles between her masts, and six 
sixes were placed in broadside. As this vessel was expected to be 
weatlierly, it was hoped these heavy guns might cut away some of 
the enemy's spars, and bring on a general action. It is due to the 
extraordinary capacity of the builder, to say that this schooner was 
put into the water in twenty-one working days after her keel had 
been laid. 

The commissions of tiie officers promoted a short time previously, 
were now found at the Harbour, and Lieutenant Commandant 
Woolsey was transferred to the Sylph, with his new rank ; Lieuten- 
ant Thomas Brown, the officer who had so much distinguished 
himself at the landing before Fort George, succeeded him in the 
Oneida. The commission of master and commander was also sent 
after Mr. Elliott, to Lake Erie, that gentleman having been promoted 
over many other lieutenants, as a reward for the capture of the two 
briirs, the previous autumn. Captain Trenchard left the station on 
account of ill health. About this time, too. Captain Perry made an 
application to be relieved from liis command on the upper lakes, 
coniplaininir of the quality of the crews of the vessels he commanded. 
It ought, indeed to be mentioned that there was a general want of 
men on all the lakes, on account of the dislike of the Atlantic sailors 
to the service, and the fact that nearly all who came upon those 
waters from the sea-board, had to undergo a seasoning through 
disease. It appears by the official reports made about this time, that 
iiearlv one man in six, were left onshore, in consequence of illness. 
At onetime, this season, the Madison liad 80 men, in a complement 
of about 200, on the sick list, or nearly half her people. 

On the 2Sth of August, Commodore Chauncey sailed again, with 
the Pike, Madison, Sylph, Oneida, Tompkins, Conquest, Ontario, 
Pert, and Lady of the Lake ; nine sail in all, of which four had been 
built for cruisers, though the Sylph was unsuited to close action; 
four were the merchant schooners so often mentioned, and the last 
a look-out vessel. 

The enemy was not seen until the 7th of September, when the 
squadron lying at anchor in, and off, the Niagara, his ships were 
made out at daylight, close in and to leeward. The signal to weigh 
was instantly shown, and the Pike, Madison, and Sylph, each taking 
a schooner in tow, sail was made in chase. The enemy bore up to 
the northward, and for six days the American squadron followed the 
English, endeavouring to bring it to action, without success. On 
the 11th of September, the enemy was becalmed off the Genesee, 
wlieii the American vessels got a breeze and run within gun-shot, 
before the English squadron took the wind. A running fight, that 
lasted more than three hours, was the result; but the enemy escaped 



178 NAVAL HISTORY. [I8l3. 

in consequence of his better sailing, it being out of the power of the 
American commander to close with more than two of his vessels, 
the Sylph being totally unfitted for that species of combat. As the 
Pike succeeded in getting several broadsides at the enemy, he did 
not escape without being a good deal cut up, having, according to 
his own report, an officer and ten men killed and wounded. The 
Pike was hulled a few times, and other trifling injuries were received, 
though no person was hurt. Previously to this afl'air. Commodore 
Chauncey had been joined by the Fair American and Asp. On the 
12th, Sir James Yeo ran into Amherst Bay, where the Americans 
were unable to follow him, on accounl of their ignorance of the 
shoals. It was supposed that the English commodore declined en 
gaging on this occasion, in consequence of the smoothness of the 
water, it being his policy to bring his enemy to action in blowing 
weather, when the American schooners would be nearly useless. 

Commodore Chauncey remained off the Ducks until the 17th, 
when the English squadron succeeded in getting into Kingston, 
after which he went into port for despatches and supplies. The next 
day, however, he came out again, and on the 19th, the enemy was 
seen in the vicinity of the Ducks. No notice was now taken of him, 
but the squadron stood up the Jake, in the hope that the English 
would follow, and also with a view of bringing down a brigade of 
troops, a division of the army being about to concentrate at Sacketl's 
Harbour, preparatory to descending the St. Lawrence with a view 
to attack Kingston or Montreal. 

In a day or two, the squadron got off the Niagara, and anchored. 
Here a rumour reached it, that there had been a general and decisive 
action, between the English and American forces on the upper lakes. 
On the 26th of September, information was received that Sir James 
Yeo was at York, with all his squadron. The Lady of the Lake 
was sent across to ascertain the fact, on the morning of the 27th, and 
returning the same evening with a confirmation of the report, the 
squadron instantly got under way. Owing to the wind, the darkness 
of the night, and the bad sailing of so many of the vessels, the squad- 
ron was not got into line, until 8 A. M., on the morning of the 2Sth, 
when the Pike, Madison, and Sylph, each took a schooner in tow, 
as usual, and sail was made for the north shore. 

The English squadron was soon discovered under canvass, in 
York Bay, and the American vessels immediately edged away for it. 
Fortunately, the Americans had the weather gage, the wind being 
at the eastward, blowing a good breeze. As soon as the enemy 
perceived the American ships approaching, he lacked and stretched 
out into the lake, in order to get room to manoeuvre ; Commodore 
Chauncey forming his line, and steering directly for his centre. 
When the American sipiadron was about a league distant, the Eng- 
lish ships made all sail, on a wind, to the southward. The former 
now wore in succession, to get on the same tack with the enemy ; 
and as soon as this object was effected, it began to edge away again 
in order to close. 

The enemy now had no alternative between putting up his helm. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 179 



and running off before the wind, thus satisfactorily demonstrating 
whicli party souglit, and wiiicli avoided a general action, or in allow- 
ing the Americans to commence the engagement. Notwithstanding 
the wariness with whicli Sir James Yeo had hitherto mana'uvred to 
prevent a decisive combat, he had always maintained the pretension 
of seeking a conflict, probably with a view to encourage the colonies, 
and a retreat, at this moment, would have been too unequivocally a 
flight to admit of palliation. Tlie American squadron was a good 
deal extended, in consequence of the great difterence in the sailing of 
its vessels, the Pike Ibeing considerably ahead of most of her con- 
sorts. As the signal was flying for close action, the Governor 
Tompkins had passed several of the larger vessels, and was next 
astern of the commodore, while the Madison, which had one of the 
heaviest of the schooners in tow, was prevented from getting as near 
as was desirable. The Oneida, too, now showed her worst qualities, 
no exertions of her gallant commander. Lieutenant Commandant 
Brown, being able to urge her into the conflict. In this state of things. 
Sir James Yeo, perceiving that his two sternmost vessels were in 
danger, and that there was some little chance of cutting off" the rear 
of the American line, which was a good deal extended, determined 
to tack, and to hazard an engagement. 

At ten minutes past meridian, accordingly, the English ships be- 
gan to tack in succession, while the Pike made a yaw to leeward, 
edging away rapidly, to get nearer to the enemy's centre. As soon 
as the two or three leading vessels of the enemy, among which were 
the Wolfe and Royal George, got round, they opened on the Pike, 
which ship received their fire for several minutes without returning 
it. When near enough, she opened in her turn. The Pike on this 
occasion, was not oidy beautifully handled, but her fire was probably 
as severe as ever came out of a broadside of a ship of her force. For 
twenty minutes she lay opposed to all the heaviest vessels of the 
enemy, receiving little or no support from any of her own squadron, 
with the exception of the Asp, the schooner she had in ^ow, and the 
Governor Tompkins. The latter vessel, commanded for the occa- 
sion by Lieutenant W. C. B. Finch,* of the Madison, was handled 
with a gallantry that reflected high credit on that young officer, 
steadily keeping the station into which she had been so spiritedly 
carried, and maintainino- a warm fire until crippled by the enemy, 
and unavoidably left astern. When the smoke blew away, during a 
pause in this sharp combat, it was l^ound that the Wolfe had lost her 
main and mizen topmast and her main-yard, besides receiving other 
injuries. Cut up so seriously, she put away dead before the wind, 
crowding all the canvass she could carry on her forward spars. At 
this moment, the Royal Georjre lufted up in noble style, across her 
stern, to cover the English commodore, who ran off to leeward, 
passing through his own line, in order to effect his retreat. There 
is no question that this timely and judicious movement of Sir James 
•Yeo saved his squadron, for had he remained long enough to permit 

* Now Captain W. C. Bolton 



180 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

the Mudison and Oneida to use their carronades, his whole force 
would linve been sacrificed. 

The enemy bore up a few minutes before 1 P. M., and tlie Pike 
immediately made a signal for a general chase. As the enemy went 
off to leeward, the Royal George kept yawing athwart the English 
commodore's stern and delivering her broadsides in a manner to 
extort exclamations of delight from the American fleet. She was 
commanded by Captain Mulcaster, an officer who won the perfect 
esteem of his enemies, by his gallantry and good conduct on this 
occasion. * 

When the English squadron bore up, the American vessels follow- 
ed, maintaining a heavy fire with as many of their circle and chase 
guns as could reach the enemy. It was now found that the arma- 
ment of the Sylph was not suited to service, the guns between her 
masts being so crowded as not to allow of their being used with 
freedom, or rapidity, more especially when in chase. This circum- 
stance, notwithstanding her size and sailing, rendered her scarcely 
of more use than one of the smaller schooners. 

After pursuinsf the enemy about two hours, during which time the 
squadron had run nearly up to the head of the lake, where the former 
had a post at Burlington Bay, and finding that the English ships 
outsailed most of his vessels, Commodore Chauncey made the signal 
to haul off with a view to stand in for the Niagara. As the enemy 
Avas eflcctually beaten, and there is scarcely a doubt, would have 
been destroyed, had he been pressed, this order has been much criti- 
cised, as uncalled for, and unfortunate. The motives which influ- 
enced the American commander, however, were marked by that 
discretion and thoughtfulness, which are among the highest attributes 
of an officer, and which distinguished his whole career, while entrust- 
ed with the arduous and responsible service over which he presided 
during the war. 

The wind was increasing, and it shortly after came on to blow an east- 
erly gale, and an action, under such circumstances, would probably 
have caused both squadrons to have been thrown ashore, there being 
nothing but a roadsted, under Burlington heights, which the wind 
that then blew swept. As the enemy was known to have a consider- 
able land force at this point, all who were driven ashore, would 
necessarily have fallen into his hands ; and had he succeeded in 
getting oftone or two of the smaller vessels, he would eftectually have 
obtained the command of the lake. By going in to the Niagara, on 
the other hand, the American squadron was in a position to intercept 
the retreat of the enemy, who was in a cul de sac, and after waiting 
for more moderate weather, he might be attacked even at anchor, 
should it be deemed expedient, under much more favourable circum- 
stances. In addition to these reasons, which were weighty, and 
worthy of a commander of reflection and judgment, the Pike had 
received a shot or two beneath her water line, which required that 
her puinjjs should be kept going, a toil, that united to the labour of 
an action, would have finally exhausted the strength of the ship's 
company. The enemy had batteries to command the anchorage, 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 181 

too, and no doubt he would have established more, had tlie Ameri- 
cans gone in. 

The gale continued until the evening of the 31st, the wind stand- 
ing to the eastward even several days longer. During this time, 
Commodore Chauncey communicated with the commanding general 
at Niagara, who deemed it more important that he should watch Sir 
James Yeo, than that he should accompany the transports down the 
lake. As this opinion coincided with that of the commanding naval 
officer himself, the troops were embarked and sent oft" as fast as the 
transports could be got ready, while the squadron held itself in 
reserve, to intercept the enemy, as soon as he should attempt to come 
to the westward. 

In the action of the 28th of September, the Pike suffered a good 
deal, both in her hull and aloft, bearing the weight of the enemy's fire 
for most of the time. Her main-topgallant mast was shot away 
early in the engagement, and her bowsprit, foremast, and mainmast 
were all wounded. Her rigging and sails were much cut up, and she 
had been repeatedly hulled ; two or three times below the water line, 
as already stated. Five of her men, only, were killed and wounded 
by shot. While bearing up in chase, however, the starboard bow 
gun bursted, by which accident twenty-two men were either slain, or 
seriously injured. The topgallant forecastle was torn up by this 
explosion, rendering its circle gun useless during the remainder of 
the day. Four of the other guns also cracked in the muzzles, pro- 
ducing great distrust about using them. The Madison received some 
slight injuries, and the Oneida had her main-topmast badly wounded. 
But no person was hurt in either of these vessels. The Governor 
Tompkins lost her foremast. On the part of the enemy, the Wolfe 
and Royal George suffered most; and it is believed that the former 
vessel sustained a very heavy loss in men. It is also understood, 
that one, if not two, of the enemy's smallest vessels struck, but the 
Pike declining to take possession, in the eagerness to close with the 
Wolfe, they eventually escaped. 

On the 2d, the wind coming round light to the westward, and the 
last transport having been sent down the lake with troops, the squad- 
ron weighed, and stretched out to look for the enemy. At 10 A. M. 
he was seen standing down, under studding sails. The instant the 
American vessels were made, however, the enemy came by the wind 
and carried sail to keep off. During the remainder of this day, the 
English ships gained on the American, and at daylight on the 3d 
they were seen at anchor, close in under an island between Twelve 
and Twenty Mile Creeks. It blew quite heavily in gusts throughout 
the day, both squadrons turning to windward, the enemy being 
nearly up with the head of the lake at sunset. The night proved 
dark and squally, with a good deal of rain, and every precaution 
was taken to prevent the enemy from getting past, as he was now 
caught, as it might be, in a net. 

The next morning the weather was thick, and nothing could be 
seen of the English squadron. It falling calm at noon, the Lady of 
the Lake was ordered to the westward, to sweep up to ascertain its 



182 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

position, or whether it had not anchored again in Burlington Bay. 
At 9 P. M. that schooner returned, and reported that the EngHsh 
squadron was not to be seen, only tMo gun-boats being visible. As 
a discreet and experienced officer had been sent on this service. Com- 
modore Chauncey immediately inferred that the enemy had got past 
him, during the darkness of the preceding night, and that he had 
gone down the lake, either to cut ofl' the American transports, or to 
get into Kingston. Sail was immediately made to run ofl'the Ducks, 
with a view to intercept Sir James Yeo, or any prizes he might have 
taken. It is now known that the officers of the Lady of the Lake 
were deceived, the British fleet actually lying at anchor so close un- 
der the heights that their hulls and spars were confounded with 
objects on the shore; the gentleman sent to ascertain the fact being 
too eager to report the supposed escape of the enemy, to go near 
enough in to make certain of the truth. There is little question that 
this unfortunate mistake alone saved the British squadron from a 
signal defeat; the result of the action of the 28th, and a knowledge 
of recent events on Lake Ei-ie, having raised such a feeling among 
the American vessels, as would almost insure a victory, and the end 
of the lake being now a weather shore, an attack at anchor would 
have been perfectly safe. 

That night and the succeeding day the American squadron made 
a great run, the wind blowing heavily from the N. W. At 3 P.M., 
on the 5th, seven sail were seen ahead, near the False Ducks, and no 
doubts were entertained that they were the British squadron. All 
sail was carried to close, but at 4 the chases were made out to be 
schooners and sloops. Signals were now shown for the Sylph and 
Lady of the Lake to cast off their tows, and to chase to the N. E. 
This induced the strangers to separate, when the Pike cast ofl'the 
Governor Tompkins, and passed ahead also. The strangers now set 
fire to one of their vessels, the other six crowding sail to escape. At 
sunset, when opposite the Real Ducks, the British vessels the Con- 
fiance, Hamilton, and Mary, struck to the Pike The Sylph soon 
after joined, bringing down with her another prize, the Drumn:ond 
cutter, and early next morning the same schooner brought out of the 
Ducks the Lady Gore. The Enterprise, the seventh vessel, escaped. 

The prizes were gun-vessels, carrying from one to three guns 
each, and were employed as transports ; a part of one of the foreign 
regiments in the British service being on board at the time. The 
whole number of ])risoners made amounted to 264, including officers. 
Among the latter were a lieutenant and two master's mates of the 
British Royal Navy, and four masters of the provincial marine. 
Ten officers of the army were also taken. The Confiance and 
Hamihon, two ofthe prizes, were the schooners Growler and Julia, 
taken on the night of the 8th of August, which, the enemy had 
rightly judged, would prove an incumbrance rather than an acces- 
sion to their squadron, and had declined receiving them in it. This 
circumstance, of itself, sufficiently proves the equivocal advantage 
enjoyed by the possession of these craft, which formed so conspicu- 
ous a part of Commodore Chauncey's force on paper, the enemy 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 183 

being unwilling to injure the manoeuvring of his vessels by using 
them. 

This success virtually terminated the naval struggle for the com- 
mand of Lake Ontario, during the season of 1813, Sir James Yeo, 
probably influenced by the nature of the combat on the 28th of Sep- 
tember, appearing disposed to wait for a reinforcement before he 
risked another action. For the remainder of the season. Commo- 
dore Chaiincey was employed in watching the enemy in Kingston, 
and in aiding the army in its descent of the St. Lawrence. It was 
the wish of the naval commander to attack Kingston, and he had 
even been flattered with the promise that his favourite project should 
be adopted, but about the middle of October the scheme appears to 
have been entirely abandoned, in order to make a descent on Mon- 
treal. Had the first plan been adhered to, it is almost certain success 
would have attended it, and the whole character of the war might 
have been changed. 

Early in November Commodore Chauncey was laying at the outlet 
of the St. Lawrence, below the east end of Long Island, when Sir 
James Yeo came out with his ships, and anchored within two leagues 
of him, the squadrons being separated by a chain of small islands. 
There was but one passage by which this chain could be passed, and 
the Americans sent boats to sound it, intending to lighten and go 
through, when the enemy lifted his anchors and returned to port. 
On the 11th, the army having gone down the river, the American 
squadron went into the Harbour. 

Two days later Commodore Chauncey, -who had now almost an 
undisturbed possession of the lake, went to the Genesee, where, on 
the IGth of the month, he took on board 1100 men, belonging to the 
army of General Harrison. A severe gale came on, by which the 
vessels were separated, some being driven as far west as the head of 
the lake. The transports, into which most of the small schooners 
were now converted, having been finally despatched, the commodore, 
went otT Kingston again, to occupy the enemy, and to cover the 
passage of the troops. All the transports had arrived on the 21st 
but the Julia, which did not get in until a ftiw days later. The Fair 
American had gone ashore near the Niagara, during the gale, but 
was got ofl*, and reached the Harbour on the 27th. By this time, 
the navigation of the lake was virtually closed, and it being too late 
to attempt any naval operations, while the duty of transporting the 
troops and stores had been successfully performed, preparations were 
made to lay the vessels up for the winter. 

Thus terminated the naval operations on Lake Ontario, during the 
season of 1813. The peculiar nature of the service rendered the 
duties of both commanders extremely arduous, and eat,h appears to 
have acquitted himself well in his peculiar station. It was the policy, 
and it is understood it had been made the enjoined duty of Sir James 
Yeo, by means of especial orders, to avoid a general action, unless 
under decidedly favourable circumstances, and the identified char- 
acter of his vessels enabled him to pursue the course prescribed with 
tolerable success, though the perseverance a)id personal intrepidity 



* / 

184 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 



of his antagonist, had forced him to the very verge of a total defeat 
in the aflair of the 28th of September. In executing his orders, the 
English commodore, who was an officer of rare merit, manifested 
great steadiness, self-denial and address, and the skill and boldness 
with which he manoeuvred, received the applause of his enemies. 
That he was kept principally on the defensive, and was prevented 
from etfecting any thing of importance, was owing to the vigilance 
and activity of his opponent, who so often anticipated his measures, 
and so closely pressed him, whenever there was an opportunity to 
engage. 

But the success of the naval efforts of this season, was decidedly 
with the Americans. By covering the descent at York, and pro- 
ducing the fall of that place, where a very large amount of stores was 
captured, one new cruiser of some force destroyed, and a second 
brouijht off, Commodore Chauncey deprived his enemy of the means 
of effectually securing a decided superiority on the lake, as the first 
blow of the season. The fall of Fort George, which altogether de- 
pended on the co-operation of the navy, led the way to the success on 
the upper lake, to the recapture of Michigan, and to the virtual sub- 
mission, for the remainder of the campaign, of all the higher counties 
of Upper Canada. An army was transported from the foot of the 
lake to its head, in the spring, and from near the head to the foot in 
the autumn ; nor is it known that a single man, gun, or any amount 
of stores that was confided to the navy, in the course of this service, 
fell into the hands of the enemy. All the duty required for the army 
was effectually accomplished, and without molestation from the En- 
glish, while the latter, with the exception of a very short period, 
during which the Pike was waiting for her guns, was obliged to per- 
form the similar service for his own army, clandestinely, and with 
the utmost caution. It has been seen that one of his transports was 
burned, and that five were captured. The only reverse sustained by 
the American squadron, was the loss of the Growler and .Tulia, as 
mentioned, and this resulted from no fault of the commanding offi- 
cer, whose dispositions were officer-like and simple. 

In the course of the summer the hostile squadrons were three times 
engaged. On two of these occasions the enemy had the wind, or 
obtained it before the ships could close, and it rested with him, of 
course, to bring on a general action, or to avoid it. On the third, 
the Americans attacked with so much vigour, with only a part of 
their force, as to leave no doubt what would have been the result, had 
not the English vessels put before the wind. Among American sea- 
men, the manner in which Commodore Chauncey bore down on the 
hostile line of the enemy, on the 28th of September, supported by 
Mr. Finch, in the Governor Tom])kins, and a schooner in tow, has 
ever been considered as an instance of high professional feeling and 
spirit; cases of so much self-devotion, coolness, and intrepidity, in 
which British squadrons have been the party attacked, being ex- 
tremely rare in modern times. It is not certain that a parallel to it 
can be found within a century, if we except a very striking instance 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 185 

afforded by the conduct of Captain Perry, of which there will be oc- 
casion to speak, in the succeeding chapter. 

Notwithstanding the services of the naval commander on the great 
lakes, public expectation, at the time, was disappointed. Bodies of 
men, who are seldom competent to judge of the nicer circumstances 
that qualify merit, and particularly that which is so exclusively of a 
professional character as the conduct of a naval commander, are apt , 
to assume that success is the only admissible standard, and while the \ \ 
success of the season was clearly with the Americans, it was not ' ■ 
success of the brilliant and attractive nature, that is the most apt to 
extort popular admiration. Few were qualified to understand that 
the size of the lake favoured the policy of Sir James Yeo, by enabling 
him to run under the guns of his own batteries, when hardest pressed, 
but the majority considered that the smaller the sheet of water on 
which the operations occurred, the easier it would be to bring on an 
action. On the several occasions in which the American squadron 
chased the enemy into Burlington, Amherst, and Kingston Bays, 
the public was more disposed to regard the force in the pre- 
sence of which the different escapes were made, than the facilities 
that existed to effect it. It called for victory, without recollecting 
that the consent of botli belligerents would be necessary to obtain 
even a battle; and of all those who were most disposed to compare 
the absence of a victory on Lake Ontario, with the brilliant successes 
elsewhere obtained, few probably remembered that no instance oc- 
curred in the whole war, the peculiar case of the Essex and Presi- 
dent excepted, in which either an English or an American public 
vessel was captured, after a battle, and in which the defeated party 
avoided the combat. Owing to the chances of war, in no instance 
whatever, was an English ship taken under such circumstances. 

But time has gradually weakened this feeling, and the country 
already views the noble and masterly efforts of Commodore Chaun- 
cey in their true light. The rapidity and decision with which he 
created a force, as it might be, in a wilderness, the professional re- 
sources that he discovered in attaining this great end, and the com- 
bined gallantry and prudence with which he manoeuvred before the 
enemy, are beginning to be fully appreciated, while the intrepidity 
with which he carried his own ship into action off York, has always 
been a subject of honest exultation in the service to which he belongs. 
If the American commander committed a fault in the course of the 
arduous duties of the months of August, September, October, and 
November, it was in not making a signal to his squadron to cast off 
their tows, after the enemy bore up on the 28th of September; but 
though it may now be easy to detect the error, he chose the side of a 
discreet caution, there being every probability of his getting alongside 
of the enemy on his own terms, as soon as the gale should abate. 
That he did not, was purely the result of accident, or rather of the 
mistake of an experienced and prudent officer, on whose report he 
had every motive to rely. Had Commodore Chauncey followed Sir 
.Tames Yeo into Burlington Bay, on that occasion, he would probably 
have obtained one of the highest reputations of the American navy, 
without as much deserving it as at present. 



186 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 



CHAPTER XXL 

Operations on Lake Erie — Force of the enemy — The Lawrence and Niagara got over 
the bar at Presqne Isle — Force of the squadron under Capt. Perrj- — General action, 
and capture of the whole British fleet — Captains Perry and Elliott receive gold medals — 
Result of this victory — Capt. Perry resigns the command to Capt. Elliott — Promotion 
of Capt. Perry, and appointment to the command of the Java. 

The manner in which the service commenced on the upper lakes, 
has been already mentioned, but it will connect the narrative to make 
a short recapitulation. The first organisation of any naval force on 
this lake was commenced by a seaman of those waters, who received 
the appointment of a sailing-master, shortly after the commencement 
of the war. This gentleman, Mr. Dobbins, was actively employed 
in subordinate stations until the close of the war. Under his super- 
vision, much of the earlier preparations for creating a maritime force 
were commenced. It will be remembered that late in the autumn 
of ISIiw, Lieutenant Elliott had been sent to the foot of Erie to con- 
tract for some schooners. He was soon after recalled to Ontario, 
and succeeded in command by Lieutenant Angus. Not long after 
the landing at Erie, Mr. Angus returned to the sea-board, and Lieu- 
tenant Pettigrew, for a short time, was in command. In the course 
of the winte% Captain O. H. Perry, then a young master and com- 
mander at the head of the flotilla of gun-boats, at Newport, Rhode 
Island, finding no immediate prospect of getting to sea in a ,sloop-of- 
war, volunteered for the lake service. Captain Perry brought on 
with him a number of oflicefs, and a few men, and Commodore 
Chauncey gladly availed himself of the presence of an officer of his 
rank, known spirit, and zeal, to send him on the upper lakes, in com- 
mand, where he arrived in the course of the winter, superseding Mr. 
Dobbins, who then was in charge. From this time, until the navi- 
gation opened. Captain Perry was actively employed, under all the 
embarra.«sments of his frontier position, in organising and creating a 
force, with which he might contend with the eneniy for the mastery 
of those important waters. Two large brigs, to mount 20 guns each, 
were laid down at Presque Isle, and a few gun-vessels, or schooners, 
were also completed. The spring passed in procuring guns, shot, 
and other supplies, and, as circumstances allowed, a draft of men 
would arrive from below, to aid in equipping the difl^erent vessels. 
As soon as the squadron of Commodore Chauncey appeared off" the 
mouth of Niagara, Captain Perry, with some of his officers, went to 
join it, and the former was efficiently employed in superintending the 
disembarkation of the troops, as has been already related. The 
fall of Fort George produced that of Fort Erie, when the whole of the 
Niairnra frontier came under the control of the American army. 

Captain Perry now repaired to his own command, and with infinite 
labour, he succeeded in getting the vessels that had so long been de- 
tained in the Niagara, passing the enemy's batteries, out of the river. 
This important service was effected by the 12th of June, and prepara- 
tions were immediately commenced for appearing on the lake. These 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 187 

vessels consisted of the brig Caledonia, (a prize,) and the schooners 
Catherine, Ohio, and Amelia; with the sloop Contractor. The 
Catherine was named the Somers, the Amelia the Tigress, and the 
Contractor the Trippe. At this time, the enemy had a cruising force 
under the orders of Captain Finnis, which consisted of the Queen 
Charlotte, a ship of between two and three hundred tons, and mount- 
ing 17 guns ; the Lady Prevost, a fine warlike schooner, of less than 
two hundred tons, that mounted 13 guns; the brig Hunter, a vessel 
somewhat smaller, of 10 guns, and three or four lighter cruisers. He . 
was also building, at Maiden, a ship of about the tonnage of the 
Charlotte, that was to mount 19 guns, and which was subsequently 
called the Detroit. 

It was near the end of June before Captain Perry was ready to 
sail from the outlet of Lake Erie, for Presque Isle. There being no 
intention to engage the enemy, and little dread of meeting him in so 
short a run, as she came in sinht of her port each vessel made the 
best of her way. The enemy had chosen this moment to look into 
Presque Isle, and both squadrons were in view from the shore, at 
the same time, though, fortunately for the Americans, the English 
did not get a sight of them, until they were too near the land to be 
intercepted. As the last vessel got in, the enemy hove in sight, in 
the offing. 

The two brigs laid down in the winter, under the directions of 
Commodore Cha^ncey, had been launched towards the close of May, 
and were now in a state of forwardness. They were called the 
Lawrence and the Niagara. The schooners had been some time in 
the water, and Captain Perry, having all his vessels in one port, em- 
ployed hiniself in getting them ready for service, as fast as possible. 
Still various stores were wanting. There was a great deficiency of 
men, particularly of seamen, and Captain Perry, and Mr. D. Turner, 
were, as vet, the only commissioned sea-officers on the lake. The 
latter, moreover, was quite young in years, as well as in rank. 

Presque Isle, or, as the place is now called, Erie, was a good and 
spacious harbour; but it had a bar on which there was less than seven 
feet of water. This bar, which had hitherto answered the purpose 
of a fortification, nowoff'ered a serious obstruction to getting the brigs 
on the lake. It lay about half a mile outside, and offered great ad- 
vantages to the enemy, did he choose to profit by them, for attacking 
the Americans while employed in passing it. So sensible was Cap- 
tain Perry of this advantage, that he adopted the utmost secrecy in 
order to conceal his intentions, for it was known that the enemy had 
spies closely watching his movements. 

Captain Barclay had lately superseded Captain Finnis in the com- 
mand of the English force, and for near a week he had been blocka- 
ding the American vessels, evidently with an intention to prevent 
their getting out, it being known that this bar could be crossed only 
in smooth v»'ater. On Friday, the 2d of August, he suddenly dis- 
appeared in the northern board.* 

* It is said that Captain Barclay lost tlic command of Lake Erie, by accepting- an invi- 
tation toadinnergiven him by the inhabitants of . While his vessels were under 

the Canadian shore, the lake became smooth, and the bar passable. Captain Perry seized 
the precious moment, and effected his purpose. 



188 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

The next day but one was Sunday, and the officers were ashore 
seeking the customary relaxation. Without any appearances of 
unusual preparation, Captain Perry privately gave the order to repair 
on board the respective vessels and to drop down to the bar. This 
command was immediately obeyed; and at about 2 P. M.,the Law- 
rence had been towed to the point where the deepest water was to be 
found. Her guns were whipped out, and landed on the beach; two 
large scows, prepared for the purpose, were hauled alongside, and 
the work of lifting the brig proceeded as fast as possible. Pieces of 
massive timber had been run through the forward and after ports, 
and when the scows were sunk to the water's edge, the ends of the 
timbers were blocked up, supported by these floating foundations. 
The plugs were now put in the scows, and the water was pumped 
out of them. By this process, the brig was lifted quite two feet, 
though, when she was got on the bar, it was found that she still drew 
too much water. It became necessary, in consequence, to come-up 
every thing, to sink the scows anew, and to block up the timbers 
afresh. This duty occupied the night. 

The schooners had crossed the bar, and were moored outside, and 
preparations were hurriedly made to receive an attack. About 8 A. 
M. the enemy re-appeared. At this time, the Lawrence was just 
passing the bar. A distant, short, and harmless cannonade ensued, 
though it had the efl^ect to keep the enemy from running in. As soon 
as the Lawrence was in deep water, her guns were hoisted in, man- 
ned as fast as mounted, and the brig's broadside was sprung to bear 
on the English squadron. Fortunately, the Niagara crossed on the 
first trial ; and before night, all the vessels were as ready for service, 
as circumstances would then allow. The enemy remained with his 
topsails to the mast half an hour, sullenly reconnoitering; he then 
filled, and went up the lake under a press of canvass. 

This occurred on the 4th of August, and on the 5th, Captain 
Perry sailed in quest of the enemy, having received on board a num- 
ber of soldiers and volunteers. He ran off Long Point, and sweeping 
the Canada shore for some distance, retui'ned to Erie on the 8th. 
Taking in some supplies, he was about to proceed up the lake again, 
when intelligence arrived that the party sent from below, under Lieu- 
tenant Elliott, was at Cattaraugus, on its way to join the squadron. 
A vessel was immediately sent for this acceptable reinforcement. 
Shortly after its arrival, the commissions that had been made out 
some time previously, were received from below. By these changes, 
Mr. Elliott became a master and commander, and Messrs. Holdup, 
Packett, Yarnell, Edwards, and Conklin, were raised to the rank of 
lieutenants. Most of these gentlemen, however, had been acting for 
some months. 

The American squadron now consisted of the Lawrence 20, Cap- 
tain Perry; Niagara 20, Captain Elliott; Caledonia 3,Mr.M'Grath, 
a purser ; Ariel 4, Lieutenant Packett; Trippe 1, Lieutenant Smith; 
Tigress I, Lieutenant Conklin; Somers 2, Mr. Almy; Scorpion 2, 
Mr. Champlin; Ohio l,Mr. Dobbins; and Porcupine l,Mr. Senatt. 
On the 18th of August it sailed from Erie, and off Sandusky, a few 




STrean^ ■ 



COMMOBOIRE 



^JLI^ER M. FEIRmX 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 189 

days later, it chased, and was near capturing one of the enemy's 
schooners. 

The squadron cruised for several days, near the entrance of the 
strait, when Captain Perry was taken ill with the fever peculiar to 
these waters, and shortly after the vessels went into a harbour, 
among some islands that lay at no great distance, which is called 
Put-in Bay. 

Here a few changes occurred, Mr. Smith going to the Niagara, 
and Mr. Holdup to the Trippe; Mr. M'Grath went also to the 
Niagara, and Mr. Turner took command of the Caledonia. The 
Ohio was sent down the lake on duty. 

While in port, on this occasion. Captain Perry contemplated an 
attack on the enemy's vessels, by means of boats, and orders were 
issued, accordingly, to drill the people with muffled oars. 

The squadron was still lying at Put-in Bay on the morning of the 
10th of September, when, at daylight, the enemy's ships were discov- 
ered at the N. W. from the mast-head of the Lawrence. A signal was 
immediately made for all the vessels to get under way. The wind 
was light at S. W., and there was no mode of obtaining the weather 
gage of the enemy, a very important measure with the peculiar arm- 
ament of the largest of the American vessels, but by beating round 
some small islands that lay in the way. It being thought there was 
not sufficient time for this, though the boats were got ahead to tow, 
a signal was about to be n^ade for the vessels to ware, and to pass to 
leeward of the islands, with an intention of giving the enemy this 
great advantage, when the wind shifted to S. E. By this change 
the American squadron was enabled to pass in the desired direction, 
and to gain the wind. When he perceived the American Vessels 
clearing the land, or about 10 A. M., the enemy hove-to, in a line, 
with his ships' heads to the southward and westward. At this time 
the two squadrons were about three leagues asunder, the breeze being 
still at S. E., and sufficient to work with. v«i-After standing down, 
until about a league from the English, where a better view was got 
of the manner in wliich the enemy had formed his line, the leading 
vessels of his own squadron being within hail. Captain Perry com- 
municated a new order of attack. ,it had been expected that the 
Queen Charlotte, the second of the English vessels, in regard to force, 
would be at the head of their line, and the Niagara had been destined 
to lead in, and to lie against her. Captain Perry having reserved for 
himself a commander's privilege of engaging the principal vessel of 
the opposing squadron ; but, it now appearing that the anticipated 
arrangement had not been made, the plan was altered. Captain 
Barclay had formed his line with the Chippeway, Mr. Campbell, 
armed with one gun on a pivot, in the van ; the Detroit, his own 
vessel, next; and the Hunter, Lieutenant Bignall ; Queen Charlotte,. 
Captain Finnis; Lady Prevost, Lieutenant Commandant Buchan ; 
and Little Belt astern, in the order named. To oppose this line, the 
Ariel, of four long twelves, was stationed in the van, and the Scor- 
pion, of one long and one short gun on circles, next her. The Law- 
rence, Captain Perry, came next ; the two schooners just mentioned 

VOL. ir. 12 



190 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

keeping' on her weather bow, having no quarters. The Caledonia, 
Lieutenant Turner, was the next astern, and the Niagara, Captain 
EUiott, was placed next to the Caledonia. These vessels were all 
up at the time, but the other light craft were more or less distant, 
each endeavouring to get into her berth. The order of battle for 
the remaining vessels, directed the Tigress to fall in asterfl of the 
Niagara, the Somers next, and the Porcupine and Trippe, in the 
order named.* 

By this time the wind had got to be very light, but the leading ves- 
sels were all in their stations, and the remainder were endeavouring 
to get in as fast as possible. The English vessels presented a very 
gallant array, and their appearance was beautiful and imposing. 
Their lijie was compact, with the heads of the vessels still to the 
southward and westward ; their ensigns were just opening to the air ; 
their vessels were frcsljy painted, and their canvass was new and 
perfect. The American line was more straggling. The order of 
battle required them to form within half a cable's length of each 
other, but the schooners astern could not close with the vessels ahead, 
which sailed faster, and had more light canvass, until some consid- 
erable time had elapsed. 

A few minutes before twelve, the Detroit threw a twenty-four- 
pound shot at the Lawrence, then on her weather quarter, distant 
between one and two miles. Captain Perry now passed an order by 
trumpet, through the vessels astern, for the line to close to the pre- 
scribed order, and soon after, the Scorpion was hailed, and directed 
to begin with her long gun. Atthis moment, the American vessels in 
line were cdiring down upon the English, those in front being neces- 
sarily nearer to the enemy than those more astern, with the excep- 
tion of the Ariel and Scorpion, which two schooners were to wind- 
ward of the Lawrence. As the Detroit had an armament of long 
iiuns. Captain Barclay manifested his judgment in commencing the 
action in this manner, and in a short time, the firing between that 
ship, the Lawrence, and the two schooners at the head of the Ameri- 
can line, got to be very animated. The Lawrence now showed a 
signal for the squadron to close, each vessel in her station, as previ- 
ously designated. A few minutes later the vessels astern began to 
fire, and the action became general but distant. The Lawrence, 
however, appeared to be the principal aim of the enemy, and before 
the firin<r had lasted any material time, the Detroit, Hunter, and 
Queen Charlotte, were directing most of their eftbrts against her. 
The American brig endeavoured to close, and did succeed in getting 
within reach of canister, though not without suffering materially, as 
she fanned down upon the enemy. At this time, the support of the 
two schooners ahead, which were well commanded and fought, was 

*In consequence of neither of the commanding^ officers having given his order of battle 
in his published official letter, it is difficult to obtain the stations of some of the smaller 
vessels. By some accounts, llie Lady Prevost is said to have been between the 
Detroit andthe Queen Charlotte, by others, the Hunter. The latter is believed to be 
the true statement. On the other hand, some accounts place the Somers, and others the 
Tigress, next astern of the Niacrara. The fact is immaterial, but the account which 
seems to be best authenticated, has been chosen. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 191 

of ilie greatest moment to her, for the vessels astern, though in the 
hne, could be of little use in diverting the fire, on account of their 
positions and the distance. After the firing had lasted some time, 
the Niagara hailed the Caledonia, and directed the latter to make 
room for the former to pass ahead. Mr. Turner put his helm up, 
and continued to near the enemy, until he was closer to his line, per- 
haps, than the commanding vessel ; keeping up as warm a fire as 
his small armament would allow. The Niagara now became the 
vessel next astern of the Lawrence. 

The cannonade had the usual effect of deadening the wind, and 
for two hours there was very little air. During all this time, the 
weight of the enemy's fire was directed against the Lawrence ; the 
Queen Charlotte having filled, passed the Hunter, and closed with 
the Detroit, where she kept up a destructive cannonading on this 
devoted vessel. These united attacks nearly dismantled the Amer- 
ican brig, besides producing great slaughter on board her. At the 
end of two hours and a half, agreeably to the report of Captain Perry, 
the enemy having filled, and the wind increasing, the two squadrons 
drew slowly ahead, the Lawrence necessarily falling astern and par- 
tially out of the combat. At this moment the Niagara passed to the 
southward and westward, a short distance to windward of the Law- 
rence, steering for the head of the enemy's line, and the Caledonia 
followed to leeward. 

The vessels astern had not been idle, but, by dint of sweeping and 
sailing, they had all got within reach of their guns, and had been 
gradually closing, thougli not in the prescribed order'. The rear of 
tlie line would seem to have inclined down towards the enemy, 
bringing the Trippe, Lieutenant Holdup, so near the Caledonia, that 
tlie latter sent a boat to her for a supply of cartridges. 

Captain Perry, finding himself in a vessel that had been rendered 
nearly useless by the injuries she had received, and which was 
dropping out of the combat, got into his boat, and pulled after the 
Niagara, on board of which vessel he arrived at about half past 2. 
Soon after, the colours of the Lawrence were hauled down, that ves- 
sel being literally a wreck. 

After a short consultation between Captains Perry and Elliott, the 
latter volunteered to take the boat of the former, and to proceed and 
bring the small vessels astern, which were already briskly engaged, 
into still closer action. This proposal being accepted. Captain 
Elliott pulled down the line, passing within hail of all the small 
vessels astern, directing them to close within half pistol-shot of the 
enemy, and to throw in grape and canister, as soon as they could get 
the desired positions. He then repaired on board the Somers, and 
took charge of that schooner in person. 

When tlie enemy saw the colours of the Lawrence come down, he 
confidently believed that he had gained the day. His men appeared 
over the bulwarks of the difterent vessels and gave three cheers. 
For a few minutes, indeed, there appears to have been, as if by com- 
mon consent, a general cessation in the firing, during which both 
parties were preparing for a desperate and final eftbrt. The wind 



192 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

had freshened, and the position of the Niagara, which brig was now 
abeam of the leading EngHsh vessel, was commanding, while the 
gun-vessels astern, in consequence of the increasing breeze, were 
enabled to close very fast. 

At 45 minutes past 2, or when time had been given to the gun-ves- 
sels to receive the order mentioned, Captain Perry showed the signal 
from the Niagai'a, for close action, and immediately bore up, under 
his foresail, topsails, and topgallant-sail. As the American vessels 
hoisted their answering flags, this order w'as received with three 
cheers, and it was obeyed with alacrity and spirit. The enemy now 
attempted to ware round, to get fresh broadsides to bear, in doing 
which his line s^ot into confusion, and the two ships for a short time, 
were foul of each other, while the Lady Prevost had so far shifted 
her berth, as to be both to the westward and to the leeward of the De- 
troit. At this critical moment, the Niagara came steadily down, 
within half pistol-shot of the enemy, standing between the Chippe- 
way and Lady Prevost, on one side, and the Detroit, Queen Char- 
lotte, and Hunter, on the other. In passing, she poured in her 
broadsides, starboard and larboard, ranged ahead of the ships, lufied 
athwart their bows, and continued delivering a close and deadly fire. 
The shrieks from the Detroit, proclaimed that the tide of battle had 
turned. At the same moment, the gun-vessels and Caledonia were 
throwing in close discharges of grape and canister astern. A con- 
flict so fearfully close, and so deadly, was necessarily shoit. In 
fifteen or twenty minutes after the Niagara bore up, a hail was passed 
among the sma^ vessels, to say that the enemy had struck, and an 
officer of the Queen Charlotte appeared on the tafirail of that ship, 
waving a white handkerchief, bent to a boai'ding-pike. 

As soon as the smoke cleared away, the two squadrons were found 
partly intermingled. The Niagara lay to leeward of the Detroit, 
Queen Charlotte, and Hunter, and the Caledonia, with one or two 
of the gun-vessels, was between the latter and the Lady Prevost. 
On board the Niagara, the signal for close action was still abroad, 
while the small vessels were sternly wearing their answering flags. 
The Little Belt and Chippeway were endeavouring to escape to 
leeward, but they were shortly after brought to by the Scorpion and 
Trippe ; while the Lawrence was lying astern and to windward, 
with the American colours again flyins:. The battle had commenced 
about noon, and it terminated at 3, with the exception of a few shots 
fired at the two vessels that attempted to escape, which were not 
overtaken until an hour later. 

In this decisive action, so far as their people were concerned, the 
two squadrons suflered in nearly an equal degree, the manner in 
which the Lawrence was cut up, being almost without an example 
in naval warfare. It is understood that when Captain Perry left her, 
she had but one gun on her starboard side, or that on which she was 
engasrcd, which could be used, and that gallant officer is said to have 
aided in firing it in person, the last time it was discharged. Of her 
crew 22 were killed, and 61 were wounded, most of the latter severely. 
When Captain Perry left her, taking with him six of his people, there 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 193 

remained on board but a very few sound men. The Niagara had 2 
killed, and 25 wounded, or about one-fourth of all at quarters.* 
The other vessels suftered relatively less. The Caledonia, Lieuten- 
ant Turner, though carried into the hotest of the action, and entirely 
without quarters, had 3 men wounded ; the Trippe, Lieutenant 
Holdup,t which, for some time, was quite as closely engaged, and 
was equally without quarters, had 2 men wounded ; the Somers, 
Mr. Almy, the same; the Ariel, Lieutenant Packett, had 1 man 
killed and 3 wounded ; the Scorpion, Mr. Champlin, had 2 killed, 
one of whom was a midshipman ; the Tigress, Lieutenant Conklin, 
and Porcupine, Mr. Senatt, had no one hurt. The total loss of the 
squadron was 27 killed, and 96 wounded, or altogether, 123 men ; 
of whom 12 were quarter-deck officers. JMore than a hundred 
men were unfit for duty, among the different vessels, previously to 
the action, cholera morbus and dysentery prevailing in the squadron. 
Captain Perry himself, was labouring under debility, from a recent 
attack of the lake fever, and could hardly be said to be in a proper 
condition for service, when he met the enemy, a circumstance that 
greatly enliances the estimate of his personal exertions, on this 
memorable occasion. Among the Americans slain were Lieutenant 
Brooks, the commanding marine officer, and Messrs. Laub and 
Clark, midshipmen ; and among the wounded, Messrs. Yarnall and 
Forrest, the first and second lieutenants of the Lawrence, Mr. Tavlor, 
her master, and Messrs. Swartwout and Claxton, two of her midship- 
men. Mr. Edwards, second lieutenant of the Niagara, and Mr. 
Cummings, one of her midshipmen were also wounded. 

For two hours, the weight of the enemy's fire had been thrown 
into t!ie Lawrence; and the water being perfectly smooth, his long 
guns had committed great havoc, before the carronades of the Amer- 
ican vessels could be made available. For much of this period, it is 
believed that the eftorts of the enemy were little diverted, except by 
the fire of the two leading schooners, a gun of one of which (the 
Ariel) had early bursted, the two long guns of the brigs, and the two 
long guns of the Caledonia. Although the enemy undoubtedly 
suffered by this fire, it was not directed at a single object, as was the 
case witii that of the English, who appeared to think, that by des- 
troying the American commanding vessel, they would conquer. It 
is true that carronades were used on both sides, at an earlier stage 
of the action than that mentioned, but there is good reason for think- 
ing that they did but little execution for the first hour. When they 
did tell, the Lawrence, the vessel nearest to the enemy, if the Cale- 
donia be excepted, necessarily became their object, and, by this time, 

*Tliis was the official account, made up on the reports of subordinates. Her own sur- 
geon, however, has since stated umler oath, that 5 were killed and near 30 wounded, 
including the slight hurts. The pretence that the erroneous report was sent to Captain 
Perry by Captain Elliott is entitled to no respect. All reports of this nature pass through 
the captain of a vessel of war, irom the pursers and medical officers. Neither Captain 
Perry nor Captain Elliott was probably in the least censurable for the error, ^vhich 
orifrinated with some medical officer or other, though not the sura:eon of the brig, who was 
loo ill to make any such rejjort, when the letter was sent. The scattered state of the 
crew Euight account for the mistake. 

tThe iale Captain Holdup-Stevens. 



194 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

the efficiency of her own battery was much lessened. Asa conse- 
quence of these pecuHar circumstances, her starboard bulwarks were 
nearly beaten in ; and even her larboard were greatly injured, many 
of the enemy's heavy shot passing through both sides; while every 
gun was finally disabled in the batteries fought. Although much 
has been justly said of the manner in which the Bon Homme Richard 
and the Essex were injured, neither of these s\u\)s suffered, relatively, 
in a degree proportioned to the Lawrence. Distinguished as were 
the two former vessels, for the indomitable resolution with which they 
withstood the destructive fire directed against them, it did not sur- 
pass that manifested on board the latter; and it ouglit to be mentioned, 
that throughout the whole of this trying day, her people, who had 
been so short a time acting together, manifested a steadiness and a 
discipline worthy of veterans. 

Although the Niagara suffered in a much less degree, even 27 men 
killed and wounded, in a ship's company that mustered little more 
than 100 souls at quarters, under ordinary circumstances, would be 
thought a large proportion. Neither the Niagara nor any of the 
smaller vessels were injured in an unusual manner in their hulls, 
spars, and sails, the enemy having expended so much of his efforts 
against the Lawrence, and being so soon silenced when that brig and 
the gun-vessels got their raking positions, at the close of the conflict. 

The injuries sustained by the English were more.divided, but were 
necessarily great. According to the official report of Captain Bar- 
clay, his vessels lost 41 killed, and 94 wounded, making a total of 
135, including twelve officers, the precise number lost by the Ame- 
ricans. No report has been published, in which the loss of the re- 
spective vessels was given, but the Detroit had her first lieutenant 
killed, and her commander. Captain Barchiy, with her purser, wound- 
ed. Captain Finnis, of the Queen Charlotte was also slain, and her 
first lieutenant was Avounded. The commanding officer and first 
lieutenant of the Lady Prevost were among the wounded, as were the 
commandinsr officers of the Hunter and Chippeway. All the vessels 
were a good deal injured in their sails and hulls; the Queen Char- 
lotte suffering most in proportion. Both the Detroit and Queen 
Charlotte, however, rolled the masts out of them, at anchor at Put-in 
Bay, in a gale of wind, two days after the action. 

It is not easy to make a just comjjarison between the forces of the 
hostile squadrons, on this occasion. In certain situations the Ame- 
ricans would have been materially superior, while in others the enemy 
might possess the advantage in perhaps an equal degree,* In the 

* Such was the opinion of the author, when this worlt was originally prepared fnr the 
piess. More accurate intelligence, however, has satisfied him, that the disparity of force 
was greaterin favour of the Americans than he had first supposed. The Lawrence and 
Niagara measured 110 feet on deck, and liad more than 29 feet of moulded beam ; or were 
of about 4.50 tons, carpenter's measurement. Authentic accounts from the custom house 
show that the Detroit and Charlotte were less than 100 feet on deck, and each had less 
than 27 feet of beam. The Prevost and Hunter were much lighter vessels than has been 
generally suppose<l, and the armament of the last was very insignificant. When we fome 
to consider the matter, in connection with the metal, however, it is that the superiority of 
the Amei-icans was most apparent ; as the iojlowing analysis will show. 

In the first place, though the English had 6:i guns to .54 of the Americans, in conse 
quenoc of so many of the guu.s of the lust being on pivots, each fought just 34 in broad 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 195 

circumstances under which the action was actually fought, the pe- 
culiar advantages and disadvantages were nearly equalised, the light- 
ness of the wind, preventingeither of the two largest of the American 
vessels from profiting hy its peculiar mode of efficiency, until quite 
near the close of the engagement, and particularly favouring the 
armament of the Detroit; while the smoothness of the water render- 
ed the light vessels of the Americans very destructive, as soon as they 
could be got within a proper range. The Detroit has been repre- 
sented on good authority, to have been both a heavier and stronger 
ship than either of the American brigs, and the Queen Charlotte 
proved to be a much finer vessel than had been expected ; while the 
Lady Prevost was found to be a large, warlike schooner. It was, 
perhaps unfortunate for the enemy, that the armaments of the two 
last were not available under the circumstances which rendered the 
Detroit so efficient, as it destroyed the unity of his efforts. In short, 

side. In the number of available guns, therefore, the parties were equal. 

Allowing: that the English got as many of their heaviest guns in broadside, at a time, 
as -was possible, and that the Amercans did the same, though the last had only to shift 
over one chase-gun in each of the longest brigs to do this, as they are known to have done, 
the long guns would stand as follows, viz : 

American. English. 

3 3-2's 2 24's 

4 24's 1 18 

8 12's 8 I2's 

5 9's 

15 guns, 288 Ib.s. metal. 7 6's 

23 gun.9, 249 lbs. metal. 

No one can deny that 15 long guns, which thrown 288 lbs. of metal, or an average of 
19 lbs. a gun, are very essentially superior in a naval action, to 23 guns, which throw 
249 lbs. of metal; or an average of less than 10 lbs. a gun. In this estimate, all the 
heaviest of the English gun.s, moreover, are counted : That is to say, the Detroit had, of 
broadside long guns, 2 24's; 6 12's, and 8 9's. She had also 2 carronades. Now, in this 
estimate we make her 9 guns in broadside to consist of the 2 24's, the 6 i2's and 1 of the 
9's, or give her the heaviest metal she could by possibility use. 

As great stress has been laid on the superiority of the English in long guns, we will 
'make another comparison. Each party had just 8 Jong 12's. The.se equalize each other; 
and putting them aside, we find the American.^ with 3 long 32's and 4 long 24'3, or 7 
guns averaging more than 27 lbs. of .shot each, to cope with a force of 2 long 24's, 1 do. 
IS, 5 do. 9's, and 7 do. 6's; or 15 long guns averaging 10 lbs. each. Again, we will 
deduct 3 of the American 24's for the tv\-o English 24's and the 18 lb. gun. This will 
leave the Americans 3 32's and 1 24. or 4 guns, throwing an average of 30 lbs. of metal a 
gun, to cope with 5 9's, and 7 6's ; or ] 2 guns, throwing an average of 7 1-2 lbs. of metal 
a gun. It is scarcely necessary to say where the superiority lies. 

In carronades, the account stands thus in broadside ; after allowing for as many long 
guns as could be used, as already stated. 

American. English. 

19 32'8 6 ^ 24's 
1 24. 4 12's. 

20 guns, 632 lbs. of metal. 10 guns, 192 lbs. of metal. 

If the broadside guns are calculated, in the manner in v^diich they were ordinarily 
mounted, and without reference to the circumstances of shifting over the heaviest of the 
long guns to meet the exingencies of such a combat, the comparison would be still more 
infavourof the Americans. Thus, of the33 longguusof theEnglish,23 throw an average 
of only 7 lbs. of metal each, or 159 lbs. altogether, which was more than equalled by 11, 
or les.s than half of the lightest American long guns. 

In these estimates, we have followed Captain Barclay's account of hisown force, given 
in great detail, and presume the facts to be very nearly, if not absolutely correct. As we 
have used care, in making our estimates, we think they will stand the test of the closest 
examination, or any argument that can be brought against them, with the exception of 
a mistatemeut of the facts. 



196 NAVAL HISTORY. [1813. 

the battle, for near half its duration, appears to have been fought, so 
far as efficiency was concerned, by the long guns of the two squad- 
rons. This was particularly favourable to the Detroit and to the 
American gun-vessels; while the latter fought under the advantages 
of smooth water, and the disadvantagesof having no quarters. The 
sides of the Detroit, which were unusually stout, were filled with shot 
that did not penetrate.* 

In the number of men at quarters, there could have been no great 
disparity in the two squadrons. Mr. Yarnall, the first lieutenant of 
the Lawrence, testified before a court of i)iquiry, in 1815, that the 
brig to which he belonged had but " 131 men and boys, of every 
description" on board her, and that of these but 103 Avere fit for duty 
in the action. The Niagara was nearly in the same state. A part 
of the crews of all the vessels belonged to the militia. Indeed, with- 
out a large pi-oportion of volunteers from the army, the battle could 
not have been fought. The British were no better oflT, having a con- 
siderable proportion of soldiers on board their vessels, though men of 
that desci'iption were probably as efficientin smooth water, and under 
the actual circumstances, as ordinary sailors. Stress was laid at the 
time, on the fact that a portion of the British crews were provincials, 
but the history of this continent is filled with instances in which men 
of that character have gained battles, which went to increase the re- 
nown of the mother country, without obtaining any credit for it. The 
hardy frontier men of the American lakes, are as able to endure 
fatigue, as ready to engage, and as constant in battle, as the seamen 
of any marine in the world. They merely require good leaders, 
and these the Ennlish appear to have possessed in Captain Barclay 
and his assistants. 

Captain Perry, in his report of the action, eulogised the conduct 
of his second in command. Captain Elliott, that of Mr. Turner, who 
commanded the Caledonia, and that of the officers of his own vessel. 
He also commended the officers of the Niagara, Mr. Packett of the 
Ariel, and Mr. Champlin of the Scorpion. It is now believed that 

*The larboard side of the Detroit is stated to have had so many shotsticking in it, and so 
many mere indentations, that doubts have been suggested as to the quality of the American 
powder. It is probable, however, the circumstance arose from the distance, which, for 
a long time, was not within fair carronade range, especially with grape, or canister, over 
round shot. [Note to Jirst edition.'] 

Since writing the above, evidence of the most satisfactory character, has been sent to 
the author, to prove that the conjecture contained in the close of the foregoing note to 1st 
and 2d editions, is true. Mr. Dobbins, who commanded the Ohio, on Lake Erie, states 
that a British officer told him on board the Detroit, a day or two afterthe action, that the 
Lawrence's guns must have been much ovcrshotted, as the round shot frequently struck 
his ship, and rebounded into the water. Mr. Dobbins further says, that the officers of the 
Lawrence admitted to him,'that they generally shotted with round, grape and canister, 
and sometimes with a langrage over all ! Had the experience of the officers of the 
Lawrence been greater, they would have understood, that a carronade will scarcely bear 
two shot, at the distance at which they engaged, much less three and four. 

There would seem to be no doubt, that the English suflered very little from the 
fire of the Lawrence. Their loss was principally from the heavy guns of the gun- 
vessels. The loss of the Lawrence is at once explained by this circumstance ; a vessel 
that was the principal aim of .several vessels of the enemy, and whose fire was of little 
effect, necessarily becoming a target for her foes. It was an c7Tor often committed in 
the last war, to overcharge carronades, the men having a disposition to send as heavy a 
' grist" as possible against the enemy. 



IS 13. J NAVAL HISTORY. 197 



the omission of thenamesof the commanders of the gun vessels astern, 
was accidental. It would seem that these vessels, in general, were 
conducted with great gallantry. Towards the close of the action, 
indeed, the Caledonia, and some of the gun-vessels would appear to 
have been handled with a boldness, considering their total want of 
quarters, bordering on temerity. They are known to have been 
within hail of the enemy, at the moment he struck, and to have been 
hailed by him. The grape and canister thrown by the Niagara and 
the schooners, during the last ten minutes of the battle, and which 
missed the enemy, rattled through the spars of the friendly vessels, 
as they lay opposite to each other, raking the English ahead and 
astern. 

Captain Perry was criticised, at the time, for the manner in which 
he had brought his squadron into action, it being thought he should 
have waited until his line was more compactly formed, and his small 
vessels could have closed. It has been said, that "an officer sel- 

dom went into action worse, or got out of it better." Truth is too 
often made the sacrifice of antithesis. The mode of attack appeal's 
to have been deemed by the enemy judicious, an opinion that speaks 
in its favour. The lightness of the wind, in edging down, was the 
only circumstance that was particularly adverse to the American 
vessels, but its total failure could not have been foreseen. The short- 
ness of the distance on the lake rendered escape so easy, when an 
officer was disposed to avoid a battle, that no commander, who de- 
sired iln action, would have been pardonable for permitting a delay 
on such a plea. The line of battle was highly judicious, the manner 
in Avhich the Lawrence was supported by the Ariel and Scorpion 
being simple and ingenious. By steering for the head of the enemy's 
line, the latter was prevented from gaining the wind by tacking, and 
when Captain Elliott imitated this manoeuvre in the Niagara, the 
American squadron had a very commanding position, of which Cap- 
tain Perry promptly availed himself. In a word, the American 
commander appears to have laid his plan with skill and judgment, 
and, in all in which it was frustrated, it would seem to have been the 
effijct of accident. There has never been but one opinion of the 
manner in which he redeemed his error, even admitting that a fault 
was made at the outset,'the united movements of the Niagara and of 
the sriiall vessels, at the close of the action, having been as judicious 
as they were gallant and decisive. The personal deportment of Cap- 
tain Perry, throughout the day, was worthy of all praise.* He did 

■* Popular opinion, wliich is too apt to confound distinctions in such matters, usually 
attaches the idea of more gallantry to the mere act of passing in a boat from one vessel to 
another, during an action, than "in fighting on a vessel's deck. This was the least of 
Perry's merits. Captain Elliott vi'as much longer in the same boat, and passed nearly 
through the whole line twice ; and Mr. M'Grath had left the Niagara for one of the other 
vesscLs, in quest of shot, before Captain Perry quitted the Lawrence. A boat also passed 
twice, if not three times, from the Caledonia to the Trippe in the height of the engage- 
ment, and others, quite likely, were sent from vessel to vessel. Captain Perry's merit 
•was an indomitable resolution not to be conquered, and the manner in which he sought 
new modes of victory, when the old ones failed him. The position taken by the Niagara, 
at the close of the affiiir, the fact, that he sought the be.st means of repairing his loss, and 
the mo/ire with which he passed from vessel to vessel, constitute his claims to admiration. 
There was, no doubt, a personal risk, in all the boats, but there was personal ri.sk every 
where on such an occasion. 



198 NAVAL HISTORY. [I8l3. 



not quit his own vessel when she became useless, to retire from the 
battle, but to gain it; an end that was fully obtained, and which re- 
sulted in a triumph. 

The British vessels appear to have been gallantly fought, and were 
surrendered only when the battle was hopelessly lost. The fall of 
their different commanders was materially against them, though it is 
not probable the day could have been recovered after the Niagara 
gained the head of their line and the gun-vessels had closed. If the 
enemy made an error, it was in not tacking when he attempted to 

The foregoing portion of this note has been the subject of divers attacks on the historian, 
it having been pretended its intention was to add to the reputation of Captain Elliott at 
the expense of that of Captain Perry. It is a little remarkable that this should be said 
while no one disputes the facts; or, no one on any show of authority. The following 
explanation will, it is hoped, set the whole matter in its true colours, before the reader. 

Vulgar opinion had attached a degree of importance to the personal risk incurred by 
those who moved about in boats, on this occasion, that far exceeded its real magnitude. 
But, whatever may have been the amount of this risk, it is not easy to show why Mr. 
M'Grath, who weiit from the Niagara to the Lawrence, in a boat, before Captain Perry 
went from the Lawrence to the Niagara, should not have just as much credit for the 
exploit, as his commanding officer. The same is true of every officer and man wlio went 
in boats that day. This is so obviously just as to require no argument. 

But. the real object of the note, was to take Captain Perry out of the category of those 
who did this particular service, and to point out the real distinction he had gained. So 
long as his merit was confined to the mere gallantry of passing in a boat, he ought, in ail 
equity, to share the credit with those who passed with him, as well as with those who 
were in the other boats. The motive was Captain Perry's alone ; the rish, he shared with 
others ; though it is not probable that the risk in the boats was half as much as when the 
parties were on the decks of their respective vessels. 

It has been pretended that the feat of shifting a flag during an engagement, was almost 
pecuHar to Captain Perry. This is very far from being true, though the examples neither 
add to, nor lessen that officer's merit. The Duke of York shifted his flag, in the battle 
of Solebay, and in the celebrated battle off the Texel, fought August 11th, 1673, Sprague, 
one of the English admirals, not only shifted his flag from the Royal Prince to the St. 
George, on account of the damages sustained by the fonner, but quitted the St. George 
also, after she was cut to pieces, and actually lost his life in passing towards a third 
vessel, with the intention of hoisting his flag on board her. In the same action, Van 
Tromp, shifted his flag from the Golden Lion to the Comet, and for a similar reason. In 
actions of the character of that on Lake Erie, or flotilla combats, many commanders have 
been passing from vessel to vessel most of the time. If the mere personal exposure be 
in.si.sted on, as Captain Perry's great merit, in this affair, his friends must be content to 
place him much lower than even -several American officers. Commodore Chauncey pulled 
through a warm fire, in the attack on Little York, going the whole length of his line ; and 
in the battle of Plattsburg Bay, the present Commander Piatt, had a heavy shot pass 
through his boat, while sent on duty in the heat of the combat. Boats were in the water, 
in several of the sharp afi'airs before Tripoli, and the late Commodore Creighton, then a 
master's mate of the John Adams, had a boat sunk under him, with several of her crew 
killed and wounded. What w^as the personal risk of Captain Perry, or, for that matter, 
of any one who went in a boat, during the battle of Lake Erie, to that of the present 
Captain Gregory, when a lieutenant, who had five men out of eight, killed and wouiided 
in his boat, before he would suffer himself to be taken by enemies of four times his force. 

The temper in which the subject of thi.s note has been treated, may be seen in the 
following facts. Commander M'Kenzie, in the ajipendix to his life of Perry, first accuses 
the author of being insensible to Perry's merit on this occasion, and to justify his asser- 
tion, affects to quote the note itself, which he calls artful, and " framed to disparage 
Perry and magnify Elliott." 

He then pretends to give the note, but instead of quoting it entire to let it speak for 
itself, first using language to induce the reader to suppose he does quote the whole note, 
he closes his quotation at the words " the whole line twice ;" placing a period where the 
writer had put only a semi-colon, and omitting not only all that is said of the real merit 
of Perry, but all also that is said of any boat other than those of Perry and Elliott. The 
principal omission is so material as to change the whole character of the note, and has 
the direct effect of a misquotation ; while the omission of the part which speaks of the last 
named boats, is obviously intended to make it appear that the writer had no other object 
in view than to glorify Captain Elliott. 

Any one who will read our note, and then read Captain M'Kenzie's comment.? on it, 
coupled with his quotation, can see for him.=elf how fiirly that writer deals with contro- 
versy, and how completely he is disqualified to deal with history. 



1813.] NAVAL HISTORY. 199 

ware, but it is quite probable that the condition of his vessels did not 
admit of the former manoeuvre. There was an instant when the 
enemy believed himself the conquerer, and a few minutes even, when 
the Americans doubted, though they never despaired; but a moment 
sufficed to change their feelings, teaching the successful the fickleness 
of fortune, and admonishing the depressed of the virtue of perse- 
verance. 

For his conduct in this battle. Captain Perry received a gold medal 
from Congress. Captain Elliott also received a gold medal. Re- 
wards were bestowed on the officers and men genei-ally, and the 
nation has long considered this action one of its proudest achieve- 
ments on the water. 

The results of the victory were instantaneous and of high impor- 
tance. The four smallest of the prizes were fitted as transports, and, 
the Lawrence excepted, the American squadi-on was employed in the 
same duty. The English had evacuated Detroit, and with it Michi- 
gan, and on the 23d of September, the squadron conveyed a body 
of 1200 men to the vicinity of Maiden, in Upper Canada, of which 
place they took possession ; and on the 27t't, Captain Perry ascended 
to Detroit in the Ariel, and re-occupied that town, in conjunction with 
the army. A day or two later. Captain Elliott, with the Niagara, 
Lady Prevost, Scorpion, and Tigress, went into Lake St. Clair to 
cut ofl' the enemy's baggage. On the 2d of October a part of the 
vessels assembled at the mouth of the Thames, with stores for the 
army, and, as the latter advanced. Captain Elliott ascended the 
stream, with the Scorpion, Porcupine, and Tigress, until he reached 
a point where the banks of the river rendered it too hazardous to go 
any farther, by exposing the vessels to the fire of the Indians. The 
battle of the Moravian Towns was fought on the 5th of the same 
month, when the savages received a severe rebuke, and nearly the 
whole of the right wing of the British army in the Canadas, laid 
down their arms on the field, under a charge of the American mounted 
volunteers. At'ter this success, which placed most of the ujiper part 
of the ]irovince in the hands of the conquerors, the vessels were em- 
ployed in bringing away the ammunition and t>ther captured stores. 
Octol)er 18th, General Harrison and Captain Perry, the latter of 
whom had been present at the battle on slioi'e, issued a joint })rocla- 
mation, for the better government of the conquered territory, assuring 
to the ))eople their ancient laws and usages, and the rights of property. 

On the 23d of October, the squadron transported the army of Gen- 
eral Harrison to Butfalo, and on the 25th, Captain Perry resigned 
the command of the upper lakes to Captain Elliott, repairing himself 
to the sea-board. November 29th, this gallant and successful officer, 
received the commission of a captain, which was dated on the day 
of the victory, and soon after he was appointed to the command of 
the Java 44, a new frigate, then fitting for sea at Baltimore.* 

* There is a letter on file in the Navy Department, in which Captain Perry, who had 
only been a commander about a year, expresses some doubts of the propriety of accept- 
ing this rank over the heads of his seniors, and his readiness to yield to their claims. 



200 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Operations on Lake Ontario — Three new ships laid down at Sackett's Harbour— Sick- 
ness, and state of the service — Capt. Sinclair appointed to command on the ujiper lakes 
— Launch of the Superior— Force of Sir James Yeo — Oswego— Descent of the British 
— Spirited though hopeless defence under Lieut. Col. Mitchell — Los.'i of the Growler 
— Blockade of Sackett's Harbour — Reinforcements from the sea-board — Attempt on 
Sandy Creek, with loss — Launch of the Mohawk — Lieut. Gregory captures a gun- 
boat, and destroys the enemy's crui-ser, building at Presque Isle — American force — 
The British run the Charwell ashore and blow her up — Sir James Yeo is six days 
blockaded in Kingston — Capture of Lieut. Gregory and crew — Attempts to draw the 
enemy out — The enemy's new ship St. Lawrence — Attempt to blow her up. 

The winter of 1813-14 was passed at Sackett's Hai'1)oiir and 
Kingston, in building vessels for the ensuing summer, and in vigilant 
watchfidness, lest the opposing force might attempt to obtain the 
command of the lake by a coM^j f/e m«i«, while the vessels were on 
the stocks. Kingston had been made very strong, by means of 
works, while the fortifications at the Harbour were of little moment. 
As the lake was frozen from one place to the other, and sleighs could 
pass in a iew hours, the Americans were kept constantly on the alert 
to guard against a surprise. The dispositions of Commodore 
Chauncey, for this purpose, were of the most judicious nature; and 
they so far commanded the respect of the enemy that, though bent 
on the enterprise, he never presumed to hazard the attempt. 

In February three vessels were laid down at the Harbour, a frigate 
of 50 guns, and two large brigs, pierced for 22 guns each. As the 
English were known to be building extensively, the titiiber was also 
got out for a second frigate. Commodore Chauncey had been absent 
at the seat of government, and it was near the end of the month 
when he returned to the Harbour, where he found that Captain 
Crane, his second in command, and Mr. Eckford, the builder, had 
been very active during his absence. Early in March many desert- 
ers came in, who agreed in stating that the largest of the enemy's 
new ships, which had been laid down the previous autumn, was 
caulked and decked, and that she was pierced for GO guns. A third 
ship was also said to be in preparation. In consequence of this 
intelligence, the size of the first American frigate was materially 
increased. March 26th, the important information was obtained 
tliat the enemy had actually laid down a two-decked vessel of unusual 
dimenisons. Thus did those inland waters, on which, until quite 
lately, nothing h;id ever floated larger than a sloop of war, bid fair to 
witness the evolutions of fleets ! 

During the whole of this winter, the sickness at the Harbour was 
of the gravest character. For five months there was never less than 
halftlu! cr(!W of the Madison on the sick list, and she actually buried 
about one fifth of her people. 

On the 7th of April one of the new brigs was launched and was 
called the Jeflerson. Still the guns which had left New York two 
months previously, had not even reached Albany. The other brig 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. ' 203 

was launched on the 10th, and was called the Jones. Not a man 
or gun, however, had yet arrived. April the 11th, the enemy was 
ascertained to be in the stream, with all his vessels of the previous 
year, ready to go out, and on the 14th, he put his two frigates into 
the water. The Lady of the Lake was sent out to watch the mo- 
tions of the English, as soon as the state of the ice permitted. About 
the close of this month, the operations on Ontario having become so 
important, and the distance being so great, Commodore Cliauncey 
was relieved from the command of the upper lakes. Captain Sinclair, 
late of the Pike, being named his successor. At the same time Cap- 
tain Elliott was ordered to Ontario, and was appointed to the Sylph, 
Captain Woolsey being transferred to the Jones. The armament 
of the former vessel, which had proved so inefficient the previous 
summer, was also altered to 16 twenty-four-pound carronades, in 
regular broadside, and she was rigged into a brig. 

April 2.5th, while rowing guard, Lieutenant Dudley detected three 
boats in the offing, and immediately fired into them. The strangers 
did not return the fire, but pulled swiftly away. Obtaining a rein- 
forcement, Mr. Dudley gave chase, but could not again fall in with 
the suspicious party. The next day there was a close search, and 
at the spot where the strangers received the fire of the gimrd-boat, 
six barrels of gunpowder were found in the lake, slung in such a 
manner, that one man might carry two at a time, across his shoulders. 
They had fuse-holes, and were, no doubt, intended to blow up the 
frigate. Had the adventurers got into the ship-yard, they must have 
been foiled, as a lieutenant, two midshipmen, and ten men, wei-e 
every night on watch, under the ship. The Madison was moored 
so as to rake beneath her bottom, with her guns loaded with musket- 
balls. There were also double lines of sentinels without, and booms 
in the water. 

About tiiis lime, when so much depended on the exertions of the 
builders, one of the most respectable of the ship-wrights, through 
some misunderstanding, was killed by a sentinel, and all the car- 
penters on tlie station, instantly struck work. The most disastrous 
consequences, appeared inevital)le, but owing to the energy of Mr. 
Eckford, sustained by the influence of the commodore, the feelings 
of the men were soothed, and they returned to their labour. 

The command of the lake was now thought so important, by both 
belligerents, that many ships were laid up on the ocean, in order to 
transfer their officers and crews to this service ; and on the part of 
the Americans, twenty-five percent, was added to the pay of all em- 
ployed on it. It is believed that the enemy made a similar provision. 

On the 2d of May, the American frigate was launched, and she 
was called the Superior. Another of less size was immediately laid 
down on her blocks. The guns began to arrive at the Harbour 
about the beginning of May, though the heaviest were still finding 
their way through the imperfect navigation of the Mohawk and Wood 
Creek, towards Oswego. On the 4th, the Lady of the Lake, Lieu- 
tenant Gregory, saw six sail of the enemy coming out of Kingston, 
about dusk, steering towards Amherst Bay ; and on the 5th, the latter 



202 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

appeared off Oswego, with seven sail. The greatest exertions were 
now made to get the Pike, Madison, Jefferson, Sylph, and Oneida, 
ready to follow him, these being all the vessels that had their arma- 
ments, the small schooners being now pretty generally abandoned as 
cruisers, on account of their qualities, and converted into transports. 
But a report was received from Captain Woolsey, then on duty at 
Oswego, that one of the new frigates was certainly in the enemy's 
squadron, and Mr. Gregory brought in information that he had seen 
the other off the Ducks the same day, when Commodore Chauncey 
abandoned the intention to go out, the great superiority of the Eng- 
lish putting a battle out of the question. 

The active cruising force under Sir James Yeo, consisted of the 
Prince Regent 58, Captain O'Conner, the flag-ship, armed with long 
heavy guns, sixtv-eight and thirty-two-pound carronades, and con- 
taining near 500 men ; the Princess Charlotte 42, Captain Mulcaster, 
having guns nearly or quite as heavy, and between 300 and 400 
men ; the Montreal, (late Wolfe,) Captain Downie ; the Niagara, 
(late Royal George,) Captain Popham ; the Charwell, (late Moira,) 
Lieutenant Dobbs; Magnet, (late Sidney Smith ;) the Star, (late 
Melville,) Captain Clover ; and the Netley, (late Beresford,) Lieu- 
tenant Owens. It was evident that nothing less than unusually heavy 
frigates could lie against the largest of these vessels. 

Captain Woolsey had been sent to Oswego, to transport to the 
Harbour the heavy guns, cables, «fec., of the two new frigates, most 
of which had reached the falls, twelve miles above the town, where 
they were kept for the sake of security, until the schooners could be 
loaded, and despatched singly. The Growler was in the river with 
that object, when Sir James Yeo, as mentioned, appeared in the 
offing. He was about to make a descent, with a body of troops, on 
the 5th, but the weather induced him to defer the enterprise. On 
this occasion, there was some firing, and the enemy abandoned an 
empty boat or two. The succeeding day, however, every thing 
being favourable, the original design was resumed. 

Oswego was then a village containing less than 500 souls, and 
was without any regular fortifications. There had been a fort of 
some size, however, when the colonies belonged to the English, and 
the ruins of this work stood on an elevated plain, at the point of 
land on the side of the river opposite to the village. The works 
were tolerably large, but had never been strong. They were merely 
mounds of earth, with bastions of the same material, dry ditches of 
no great depth, a natural glacis, pickets, ramparts, and a few insig- 
nificant outworks. The American government permitted them to 
go to decay, and as there was no masonry, the ditch had nearly filled, 
the rnmparts had worn down, the pickets and palisadoes had de- 
cayed, and even the gate and the barracks had disappeared. After 
the declaration of war, regiments frequently remaining at this point, 
for weeks at a time, on their way to the seat of hostilities, the spot 
being public property and ofi'ering facilities for disciplining troops, 
it had been selected as their temporary abode. Rude barracks had 
been constructed, and a gate was built. Some other trifling repairs 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 203 

may have been made, an imperfect picketing was set up, but the 
ditches and ramparts might still have been crossed, at many phices, 
on horseback. In short, as a mere fieldwork, with a sufficiency of 
men, this titular fort might have been formidable ; it oftercd many 
facilities for cannonading in the offing and commanded the river in 
a degree proportioned to the number of men and guns tliat might 
happen to be in it ; but against a superior force, in a serious fight, it 
could be of no essential service, and nothing was easier than to storm 
it, a siege being quite unnecessary. In short, it was no longer a 
fort, in the real signification of the term, nor was it ranked among 
the fortifications of the country. 

At the moment when Sir James Yeo appeared, a battalion of the 
light artillery, consisting of 290 eflectives, under Lieutenant Colonel 
Mitchell, was at Fort Oswego, anil but a few militia had been called 
in, the adjacent country, for a distance of forty miles, being little 
more than a wilderness. It would trespass on another branch of 
the subject, minutely to relate the affiiir that followed. Lieutenant 
General Drummond commanded the English troops, and the two 
services united, disembarked with a force that has been difterently 
computed at from 1000 to ISOO men. The ships opened a heavy 
fire, and a landing was effected. Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell, who 
had less than 400 men, and but two serviceable heavy guns, met 
the enemy at the shore, and fought him, as long as was at all pru- 
dent, in the woods, and on the plain, when he fell back towards the 
falls, as a retreat into the fort would have ensured his capture. Had 
the latter been in repair, less than 1000 men could not have pre- 
vented it from beino; stormed, on account of its size. The defence 
though hopeless from the first, was very spirited, and the enemy ad- 
mitted a loss of 95 men, though it was thought to have been materi- 
ally larger. The Americans lost 6 killed, 38 wounded, and 25 
missing, or 69 in all. Lieutenant Pierce, and the few seamen 
present, fell into the ranks of the soldiers, and fought bravely. The 
Growler, the only transport in port, was sunk as soon as the landing 
was effected. 

The enemy remained two days at Osweso, when they raised the 
Growler, and carried her off; this making the third time that vessel 
had been taken during the last year. But few stores were found in 
the village, however, the orders of Commodore Chauncey having 
required that they should be kept at the falls, until vessels were ready 
to sail with them. On the whole, the English derived very little 
advantage from this descent, and the Americans suffered scarcely 
any injury, besides the killed and wounded. The navy lost seven 
guns in the Growler, with a few shot and a little rigging. On the 
part of the enemy. Captain Mulcaster, of the Princess Charlotte, an 
officer of great gallantry, who had landed with a brigade of seamen, 
was badly wounded. The conduct of Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell 
was highly approved, and was thought to have been marked by 
steadinesr>, courage, and conduct. 

Sir James Yeo now returned to Kingston, landed the troops, and 
on the 19th, he came out and chased the Lady of the Lake into the 



204 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

Harbour, off which place he appeared with four ships and three 
brigs, blockading the port, for the first and only time during the war. 
At this moment, many of the stores, and some of the lighter guns, 
of which the direction had been changed, in consequence of the 
descent, were coming in by land, though the heavy guns and cables 
still remained in the Oswego river. 

About the middle of May, reinforcements of officers and men, 
began to arrive from the sea-board. The Macedonian had been laid 
up in the Thames, and Mr. Rodgers, her first lieutenant, came in 
with her crew, between the 1 1th and the 21st. Captain Elliott 
rejoined the station on the 12th, and Captain Trenchard on the 15th. 
The Erie, a new sloop of war, then blockaded at Baltimore, had 
also been laid up, and her commander, Captain Ridgely, with his 
people, arrived some time before, and had been put on boai'd the 
Jefferson. 

Notwithstanding all the exertions that had been made in building, 
the ships were useless without guns and cables, and most of those 
intended for the two frigates, had yet to be transported to the Har- 
bour by water, their weight and the state of the roads rendering other 
means too costly and difficult. Captain Woolsey, who was still en- 
trusted with this duty, caused reports to be circulated that the heavy 
articles were to be sent back to the Oneida lake, and when time had 
been allowed for the enemy to receive this false information, he run 
the guns over the falls, and at sunset, on the 28th of May, he reach- 
ed Oswego with 19 boats, loaded with 21 long thirty-two-pounders, 
10 twenty-four-pounders, 3 forty-two-pound carronades, and 10 
cables. The look-outs having reported the coast clear, the brigade 
of boats rowed out of the river, at dusk, and after^assing a dark and 
rainy night at the oars, reached the mouth of Big Salmon River, at 
sunrise on the 29th, one boat having unaccountably disappeared. 

Captain Woolsey was accompanied by a detachment of 130 rifle- 
men, under Major Appling, and at the Big Salmon he also met a 
party of Oneida Indians, which had been directed to follow on the 
shore. The brigade now proceeded, entered the Big Sandy Creek, 
and ascended about two miles, to its place of destination ; the block- 
ade rendering it necessary to convey the supplies by land the remain- 
der of the distance. 

At this time, the English squadron lay at anchor, a few miles from 
the Harbour, and the missing boat had gone ahead, in the professed 
hope of making the whole distance by water. Seeing the English 
ships, either by mistake or treachery it pulled directly for them, 
under a belief, real or pretended, that they were Americans. It is 
thought, however, that the people in the boat were deceived. 

From the prisoners, Sir James Yeo learned the situation of the 
remainder of tiie brigade. He had three gun-boats on the station, 
and Captain Popham of the Montreal, was put into one, and Captain 
Spilsbury into the other, having three cutters and a gig in company. 
After cruising without success, separately, the two parties joined, 
and havang ascertained that the brigade had entered Sandy Creek, 
ihey followed on the 30th, with the expectation of capturing it. Ma- 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 205 

jor Appling, being apprised of the approacli of the enemy, placed 
his ritlemei), supported by the Indians, in ambush, about half a mile 
below the place where Captain VVoolsey was discharging the stores. 
The enemy had a party of marines on board, under two lieutenants 
of that corps. These, in conjunction with a body of seamen, were 
landed, and the gun-boats approached, throwing grape and canister, 
into the bushes, with a view to feel their way. Major Appling per- 
mitted the enemy to get quite near, when he threw in a close 
discharge of the rifle. The resistance was trifling, and in ten minutes 
the whole of the English demanded quarter. The enemy had a 
midshipman and 14 seamen and marines killed, and 2 lieutenants 
of marines, with 26 common men wounded. In addition to the 
wounded, there was a sufficient number of prisaners made to raise 
his total loss to 186. All the boats were taken, the three gun-vessels 
carrying 68, 24, 18 and 12 pound carronades. Among the prisoners 
were Captains Popham and Spilsbury, 4 sea-lieutenants, and 2 mid- 
shipmen. Although there was a considerable force a short distance 
above, without the range of the rifle, the command of Major Applinf, 
which effected this handsome exploit, was scarcely equal to the ene- 
my in numbers, yet he had but a single man wounded. This little 
success was the eff'ect of a surprise and an ambush. 

It will aid in giving a better idea of the condition of this frontier, at 
that time, as well as in proving the ardour with which the duty was 
conducted, if we state that, when the stores in charge of Captain 
Woolsey were landed, a frigate's cable was carried from Sandy Creek 
to the Harbour, a distance of eight miles, on the shoulders of a party 
of sailors.* 

Most of the Superior's guns having now arrived, the enemy, who 
was well informed of all that passed on shore, raised the blockade on 
the 6th of June. Sir James Yeo, who had lately kept two brio's- 
cruising between Oswego and the Harbour, joined them with the rest 
of his squadron, and they all disappeared in company, steering to- 
the northwest. Two days later the last of the guns actually reached 
Sackett's Harbour. The frigate w hich had been laid down on the 
blocks of the Superior, was launched on the 1 1th of June, havino^ 
been put into the water in 34 working days, from the time her keel 
was laid. She was named the Mohawk. Still the squadron was 
500 men short of its complements, though the crew of the Conjiress 
38, which was undergoing extensive repairs, at Portsmouth, N. H., 
had been ordered to this service. About the middle of the month the 
latter began to arrive. The enemy also continued to reinforce both 
his army and his marine, 200 boats at a time having been observed 
passing up the St. Lawrence. 

About the middleof the month. Commodore Chauncey sent Acting 
Lieutenant Gregory, with three gigs, into the St. Lawrence, where 
the enemy had a line of gun-boats, to cover the passage of his sup- 

*James, in his historj-, exults greatly at the circumstance of the blockade, pretending 
to make an enumeration offeree of the two squadrons On the side of the Americans 
he counts not only vessels that had been laid aside as- cruisers, bat vessels that had no 
armaments, and one frigate before she was launched I 
VOL. II. 13 



206 NAVAL HISTORY. [18 14 

plies and reinforcements, with directions to surprise some of his 
boats loaded with stores, and, if possible, to destroy them. For this 
purpose Mr. Gregory lay in ambush on one of the islands, but was 
discovered by the look-outs of the enemy, who immediately des- 
patched a gun-boat in chase. Instead of retiring before this force, 
Mr. Gregory determined to become the assailant, and he dashed at 
the gun-boat, carrying her without the loss of a man. This vessel 
had an eighteen-pound carronade, and a crew of 18 men. While 
proceeding up the river with his prize, Mr. Gregory was chased by a 
much larger boat, mounting 3 guns, and pulling a great number of 
oars, which compelled him to scuttle and abandon her. On this 
occasion Mr. Gregory was accompanied by Messrs. Vaughan and 
Dixon, two gallant marines of the lake, and he brought in nearly as 
many prisoners as he had men. 

Ten days later. Mi". Gregory was sent with two gigs, accompanied 
as before by Messrs. Vaughan and Dixon, to Nicholas Island, near 
Presque Isle, to intercept some transports, failing of which he was 
to land at Presque Isle, where the enemy had a cruiser, intended to 
mount 14 guns, nearly ready to launch, and endeavour to destroy 
her. This duty, after running much risk, and suffering greatly from 
hunger, was effectually performed by the party, which was absent 
near a week. The day after his return from this expedition, Mr. 
Gregory received the commission of a lieutenant, which had been 
conferred on him for the handsome manner in which he had captured 
the gun-boat. 

Unfortunately, at this period, while the squadron was fitting for 
the lake, and so much remained to be done to render it efficient, 
Commodore Chauncey, who was subjected to great exhaustion of 
mind and body, fell ill of the prevalent fever, and for the entire 
month of July, was confined to his bed. This was at the critical 
moment when General Brown had commenced that series of brilliant 
battles on the Niagara, which, by bringing the disciplined troops of 
-America against those of England, established the high reputation 
with which the army, after all its early reverses, came out of the war 
of 1812. Although the duty at the Harbour proceeded, it necessarily 
suffered for the want of the mind which had plaimed it, and whose 
resources bad been so amply proved to be equal to the effort of creat- 
ing a fleet in a forest. 

It had been hoped that the squadron would be ready to go out by 
the middle of July, but so many of the mechanics were taken ill, also, 
that it was found impossible to get the Mohawk ready before the 
^5th. At this time. Commodore Chauncey, rather than delay the 
(departure of the vessels, was about to yield the command tempora- 
rily, to the officer next in rank, but being convalescent, and a change 
of crews having become indispensable, on account of the wish of the 
men to serve under their proper officers, three or four days were 
■occupi('d in effecting these important alterations. On the afternoon 
• of the 31st of July, thecommodore was carried on board the Superior, 
and the American squadron sailed. Its force consisted of the Supe- 
rior 62, Lieutenant Elton, Commodore Chauncey; Mohawk 42, 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 207 

Captain Jones ; Pike 28, Captain Crane ; Madison 24, Captain 
Trenchard ; Jefferson 22, Captain Ridgely ; Jones 22, Captain 
Woolsey; Sylph 14, Captain Elliott; Oneida 14, Lientenaiit Com- 
mandant Brown, and the Lady of the Lake, look-out vessel — most 
of the small schooners havinor now been abandoned, as cruisers in 
squadron. There is no question that this force, which, with the ex- 
ception of the Oneida, was composed of efficient vessels, was superior 
to that of the English, who were striving to regain the ascendency, 
by constructing, as fast as possible, the two-decker already men- 
tioned. The Americans, who had momentarily exhausted their 
means, under the disadvantages of bad roads, sickly mechanics, and 
their great distance by land from their supplies, were disposed to 
trust to the chances of the season, hoping that a victory might pre- 
vent the necessity of again building; for, it should be remembered, 
in order to appreciate the efforts of the two belligerents, that the 
Americans, besides contending with the eti'ects of a country just 
cleared of its timber, an evil from which the enemy was exempt at 
Kingston, had to build even the town that had grown up at the Har- 
bour, in order to supply the common necessaries of life.* 

Commodore Chauncey, whose health rapidly improved in the pure 
air of the lake, appeared ofi' the Niagara, now by the vicissitudes of 
war again in the possession of the English, on the 5th of August. 
The enemy's sqnadron was separated at the moment, his large ves- 
sels being down the lake, while many of his small cruisers had been 
convoyino', or transporting troops and stores near the head. As the 
American vessels approached, they intercepted one of the English 
brigs, which was convoying troops from York to Niagara, and she 
was chased ashore about two leajiues to the westward of Fort Georjre. 
The Sylph, Captain Elliott, was ordered to run in, and destroy her, 
but just as the former was about to anchor, the enemy set fire to their 
brig, and she soon after blew up. This vessel is believed to have 
been called the Charwell, and to have mounted 14 guns. 

The enemy having two cruising brigs and a schooner in the Nia- 
gara, both sides of which river were now in his possession by the 
capture of Fort Niagara, Commodore Chauncey left the Jefferson, 
Sylph, and Oneida to watch them,under the orders of Captain Ridge- 
ly of the former vessel, and looking into York, to ascertain if any 
portion of the British force was there, he went off Kingston, where 
he arrived on the 9th. One of the English ships was in the offing, 
and was chased into port by the American squadron, as it arrived. 
The next day, the Jones, Captain Woolsey, was sent to cruise be- 
tween Oswego and tlie Harbour ; and the Conquest, one of the best 
of the schooners, which had been kept armed for any light service 
that might offer, was employed on the same duty, the enemy having 
intercepted some flour that was passing, by means of boats. 

From this time, until the month of October, or for six weeks un- 

*It is said that one of the greatest wants of the Enerlish was ship timber, the age of 
Kingston, and the practice of exporting it to England, having nearly stripped the north 
shore. On the other hand, one of the largest of the American vessels, was literally laid 
down in the forest. 



208 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

interruptedly, Commodore Chauncey continued a close blockade of 
Sir James Yeo, in Kingston, liaving undisputed command of the 
entire lake. With a view to tempt the English to come out, he kept 
only four vessels in the offing, and as the enemy had an equal num- 
ber, it was thought the provocation might induce him to risk a battle. 
Some guns were also sent ashore, with a view to bring the vessels 
as near as possible to an equality. The American ships were the 
Superior 58,* Mohawk 42, Pike 28, and Madison 24 ; the British, 
the Prince Recent 58, Princess Charlotte 42, Wolfe 25, and Niagara 
24. There was also a large schooner at Kingston, and several gun- 
boats and smaller vessels. It is probable that there was a trifling 
superiority on the part of the Americans, notwithstanding, for in a 
conflict between vessels of so much force, the smaller craft could be 
of no great moment, but it was such a superiority as the enemy had 
long been accustomed to disregard ; and the result showed that the 
American marine commanded his respect to a degree which rendered 
the minutest calculations of force necessary. Once or twice, the 
brigs joined the American commodore, in quest of supplies, but they 
were always sent away again, in order to keej) but four ships on the 
station. The Sylph was ordered off Presque Isle, to intercept boats 
passing in-shore, and the rest of the vessels were kept on the soutn 
coast, between the Harbour and the Niagara. 

In the course of the month of August, Major General Izard wrote 
to Commodore Chauncey, to inquire what means of transportation 
he could aflord his division, the former being ordered to march from 
Plattsburg to reinforce the army, on the Niagara. In his answer, 
the latter stated that he could furnish four ships, four brigs, and seven 
schooners, the first eight mounting from 14 to 58 guns ; and the lat- 
ter acting as transports, being from 40 to 90 tons burthen. In a few 
days, however, he should have at his command 15 barges, that were 
75 feet long each, and which would mount two guns apiece, having 
been built expressly to convey troops and stores. 

On the 20th of August, the blockading ships were driven off" by a 
gale, and on regaining their station on the 2.5th, the enemy could not 
be seen in port. Lieutenant Gregory, with Mr. Hart, a midship- 
man, was immediately sent in, in a gig, to reconnoitre. While on 
this duty, Mr. Gregory landed to set fire to a raft of picket-timber that 
lie accidentally passed. This deviation from the direct route, brought 
the gig so near in-shore, that two barges of the enemy, carrying 30 
men, were enabled to head it, as it doubled a point. A chase, and a 
sliarp fire of musketry ensued, Mr. Gregory persevering in his 
attempt to escape, until Mr. Hart was killed, and five men out of 
eight were wounded, when this enterprising officer was obliged to 
surrender. 

September the 5th, the four ships were still blockading Kingston ; 
the Jefl^erson and Jones were ofl" the Niagara, under Captain Ridge- 
ly ; the Sylph and Conquest ofl' Presque Isle, under Captain Elliott; 
and the Oneida was dismantling at the Harbour, the armament of 

' Four guns having been landed. 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 209 

that brig being put into the barges. On the 11th, the wind came 
from the northward, when Commodore Chauncey stood in towards 
Kingston, and brought to, just without the drop of the shot from the 
batteries, and the sliips hoisted their ensigns, as a challenge for the 
enemy to come out. The English sprung their broadsides to bear, 
set their colours, but did not accept the defiance. It was now seen 
that the two-decker was launched, and she was ascertained to be very 
large. After remaining close in, for a considerable time, the Amer- 
ican ships filled and gained an offing.* 

The next day it came on to blow, and the squadron was compelled 
to make an offing for safety. The gale lasted until the 15th, when 
the Lady of the Lake joined, to say that General Izard had reached 
the Harbour. »The ships now went in, for the first time, since the 
2d of August, having kept the lake 45 days ; much of the time under 
canvass. On the IGth, the look-out vessel was sent to order in the 
difl^erent brigs. The Jeflerson and Jones arrived on the 17th, hav- 
ing been in the late gale, which drove them to tlie head of the lake. 
The first had thrown overboard ten guns, and was only kept ofl'the 
shore, by carrying sail, and by the aid of the under-tow. A tremen- 
dous sea running, the brig was twice on her beam ends. 

The division of General Izard consisted of 4000 men, of whom 

' On this occasion, the hostile vessels were so near each other, that, by the aid of a 
elafs, an American prisoner, then on board the Prince Regent, distinctly recog'nised 
Commodore Chauncey, standinsjin the gangway of the Stiperior, and pointed him out to 
the Eng^lish officers. Tliere is no question that the latter were much mortified at their 
sltualion, which was more probably the result of rigid instructions, than of any prudence 
on their part. It is said, on good authority, that some of tlie captains who were then on 
board the Prince Regent, did not hesitate to express their feelings, affirming it was a 
new thing for an English squadron to be blockaded by a force but little, if any superior. 
Sir James Yeo, who probably felt the painful character of his situation as much as any 
man in his fleet, on hearing these words, is said to have dashed his spy-glass over the 
breech of a gun, and to have retired to his cabin. Of the precise force of the two squad- 
rons present, it is not easy to speak. The Superior was pierced for 64 guns, had ori- 
ginally mounted 62, and now mounted 58, the actual numberof the Prince Regent. She 
was a little larger than the English ship; perhaps 150 tons. Between the Princess 
Charlotte and Mohawk, there was not much difference in force, though there was some 
in construction. The metal of the English ship is said to have been the heaviest. The 
Pike was a little heavier than the Montreal, and the Madison than the Niagara. As to 
men, there could be no essentia! difference, though it was in the power of Sir James Yeo, 
to get as many as he could desire from the army. It was known in the squadron, that 
Commodore Chauncey intended to disregard altogether the gun-boats and schooners, did 
they choose to come out. It has not been in our power to ascertain the metal of the 
Prince Regent, her gun-deck battery having been represented equally as thiity-twos, 
and as twenty-fours. If the former, the difl'erence between the two squadrons was ideal 
rather than substantial. 

The history of no marine probably furnishes an instance of a higher state of discipline 
than Commodore Chauncey had brought his squadron up to, during this summer. Offi- 
cers of experience and merit, who were in the fleet, still speak of it with pleasure, as an 
exception even in a service remarkable for thishigh quality. At exercising sails, and in 
working ship, the method, accuracy, and rapidity of the cre\vs, have been likened to 
the drill of favourite regiments of guards in Europe; and at the guns the men are de- 
Bcribed as having boon literally terrible. They were kept constantly in practice with 
targets, handling heavy long guns like muskets, and pointing them like rifles. Discreet 
observers have even doubted whether tlie English could have got out, had they attempt- 
ed it, as they must have advanced, bows on, through a channel less than a mile wide, 
fir it is believed every spar would have been taken out of them, before they could close. 
The exercise by which this high condition was produced, had been of the severest kind. 
The men had commenced, by being kept at the guns an hour, in violent exertion, when 
it was found that they were e-xhausted. The time was gradually extended, how(!ver, 
until the Superior's people have been known to come out of an exercise of several hours 
contiimance, as fresli and as gay as if they had been at sport. 



210 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

3000 embarked on tlie 19th, but another gale intervening, did not 
sail until the 21st. This force was landed at the mouth of the Gene- 
see, on the 22d. As soon as this dutj was performed. Commodore 
Chauncej went off Kingston again, where he appeared on the 28th. 
Two of the enemy's ships were coming out under a press of sail, most 
probably with troops to reinforce the army on the Niagara, but were 
driven back. The 29th, the wind being fair, the squadron looked 
into Kingston again, and the Lady was sent close in, when it was 
found that the large ship, which had been called the St. Lawrence, 
was completely rigged, but had no sails bent. As this vessel wiif, 
pierced for 112 guns, and was intended for metal in proportion, sht 
was more than equal to meeting the whole American force. On tht 
5th of October, the Sylph looked in again, and found her sails beni 
and topgallant yards crossed, when Commodore Chauncevran ovet 
to the Harbour, where he anchored on the 7th, and prepared to re- 
ceive an attack. 

For some days, Sir James Yeo was confidently expected; and 
Commodore Chauncey moored his ships outside the point, under the 
fort, in readiness to receive him. With so little skill, however, had 
the works at this important post been planned, that there was no 
point where more than four guns at a time could be brought to bear 
on the enemy. This evil was in part repaired, and a reinforcement 
of troops shortly after arriving, under Major General Brown, all ap- 
prehensions ceased by the end of the month. 

Sir James Yeo sailed in the St. Lawrence, with four other ships, 
two brigs, and a schooner, on the 15th of October, and he continued 
in command of the lake for the remainder of the season. He is said 
to have had more than 1100 men in his flag-ship; and it was under- 
stood that the enemy had become so wary, that a captain was sta- 
tioned on each deck. Special duty probably occupied him, for no 
attempt was made on the Harbour, nor did the enemy even blockade 
it; the necessities of the Niagara frontier calling his attention in that 
quarter. 

On the 19th of November, Mr. M'Gowan, a midshipman, accom- 
panied by Mr. William Johnson, a celebrated partisan, Avent with a 
torpedo, to blow up the St. Lawrence, then supposed to be lying in 
Kingston. He was discovered by two of the enemy's boats, and 
found himself reduced to the necessity of capturing them. Having 
now as many prisoners as men of his own, and understanding that 
the ship was not in port, Mr. M'Gowan returned to the Harbour. At 
the end of the month the navioation closed. 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 21] 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Operations on Lake Champlain— Attempts of the British to fill up the channel of Otter 
Creek — Launch of ihe schooner Eagle — Sir George Prevost advances against Platts- 
burg — Disposition of the hostile forces — Battle of Plattsburg Bay — Promotion of Capt. 
M'Donough — medal from Congress, &c. &c. — Glorious character of the battle. 

Although Lake Champlain had been the scene of so many im- 
portant events, in tlie previous wars of the continent, the country had 
so far advanced as to render it, until near the close of 1814, of but 
little moment, in the present contest. By that time, large reinforce- 
ments had arrived in the Canadas, from Europe, and an army was 
collected in the vicinity of Montreal, that has been difierently esti- 
mated to contain from ten to fifteen thousand men. With this force, 
the enemy now contemplated an invasion of the northern and least 
populous counties of New York, following the route laid down for 
General Burgoyne, in his unfortunate expedition of 1777. How far 
the English expected to penetrate, on this occasion, is still a matter 
of doubt, though Crown Point and Ticonderoga are thought to have 
been their aim, with a view to farther conquests in the spring. Some 
have imagined that they hoped to reach Albany, a measure that would 
have induced a total loss of their whole force, as double the number 
of men named could hardly have attempted such an enterprise with 
a rational prospect of success. It was most probably intended to 
occupy a portion of the northern frontier, with the expectation of 
turning the circumstance to account, in the pending negotiations, the 

Enirlish commissioners soon after advancino- a claim to drive the 

o . . ... 

Americans back from their ancient boundaries, with a view to leave 

Great Britain the entire possession of the lakes. In such an expe- 
dition, the command of Champlain became of great importance, as 
it flanked the march of the invading army for more than a hundred 
miles, and offered so many facilities for forwarding supplies, as well 
as for annoyance and defence. Until this season, neither nation 
had a force of any moment on that water, but the Americans had 
built a ship and a schooner, during the winter and spring; and when 
it was found that the enemy was preparing for a serious eftbrt, the 
keel of a brig was laid. Many galleys, or gun-boats, were also con- 
structed. 

The American squadron lay in Otter Creek, at the commencement 
ofthe season, and near the middle of May, as the vessels then launched 
were about to quit port, the enemy appeared off the mouth ofthe 
creek, with a force consisting of the Linnet brig, and eight or ten 
galleys under the orders of Captain Pring, with a view to fill the 
channel. For this purpose two sloops loaded with stones were in 
company. A small work had been thrown up at the mouth ofthe 
creek some time previously, by Captain Thornton of the artillery, 
and Lieutenant Cassin was despatched with a party of seamen, to 
aid that officer in defending the pass. After a cannonading of some 
duration, the enemy retired without effecting his object, and the ves- 



212 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

sels got out. In this affair, no one was hurt on the side of the Ame- 
ricans, ahhoun;h shells were thrown from one of the galleys. 

On the other hand, the English were not idle. In addition to the 
small vessels they had possessed the previous year, they had built the 
brig just mentioned, or the Linnet, and as soon as the last American 
vessel was in frame, they laid the keel of a ship. By constructing 
the latter, a great advantage was secured, care being taken, as a 
matter of course, to make her of a size sufficient to be certain of 
possessing the greatest force. The American brig, which was called 
the Eagle, was launched about the middle of August; and the 
English ship, which was named the Confiance, on the 25th of the 
same month. As the English army was already collecting on the 
frontier, the utmost exertions were now made by both sides, and eacVi 
appeared on the lake as it got ready. Captain M'Donough, who 
still commanded the American force, was enabled to get out a few 
days before his adversary; and cruising being almost out of the 
question on this long and narrow body of water, he advanced as far 
as Plattsburg, the point selected for defence, and anchored, the 3d 
of September, on the flank of the troops which occupied the entrench- 
ments at that place. 

About this time. Sir George Prevost, the English commander-in- 
chief, advanced against Plattsburg, then held by Brigadier General 
Macomb, at the head of only 1500 effectives, with a force that proba- 
bly amounted to 12,000 men. The English army was divided into 
four brigades, wlfich were led by Lieutenant General de Rottenburg, 
Majors General Brisbane, Power, and Robinson ; Major General 
Baynes doing the duty of Adjutant General. With this formidable 
force. Sir George Prevost advanced slowly, waiting for the flotilla to 
get ready, and to appear on his left flank. A good deal of skirmish- 
ing ensued, and from the 7th to the 11th, the enemy was employed 
in bringing up his battering train, stores, and reinforcements. Cap- 
tain Downie, late of the Montreal, on Lake Ontario, had been sent 
by Sir James Yeo, to command on this lake. It has been said that 
he was hurried into action by the pressing solicitations of the Governor- 
General, but in the course of a newspaper controversy that succeeded, 
the latter caused a letter of the commanding naval officer to be pub- 
lished, in which Captain Downie, but a few days before the conflict, 
announced his determination not to go out until his vessels were 
ready. In one sense, certainly, neither squadron was in a very pre- 
pared state, the largest English vessel having been in the water but 
16 days, when it was brought into action; and the second vessel in 
size of the Americans but 30 days. In point of fact, the Eagle was 
ready for service but 8 days before the Confiance. As these vessels, 
however, had little need of stores, and the action that ensued was 
fought at anchor, they were, in truth, a species of floating batteries. 

On the 6th, Captain M'Donough ordered the galleys to the head 
of the bay, to annoy the English army, and a cannonading occurred 
which lasted two hours. The wind coming on to blow a gale that 
menaced the galleys with shi|)wrcck, Mr. Duncan, a midshipman 
of the Saratoga, was sent in a gig to order them to retire. It is sup- 



18 i4.] NAVAL HISTORY. 213 

posed that the appearance of the boat induced the enemy to think 
that Captain M'Donough himself, had joined his galleys, for he con- 
centrated a fire on the galley Mr. Duncan was in, and that young 
officer received a severe wound, by which he lost the use of his arm. 
Afterwards one of the galleys drifted in, under the guns of the enemy, 
and she also sustained some loss, but was eventually brought off. 

The general direction of Lake Champlain is north and south, but 
at the point called Cumberland Head, in coming south, the land 
bends north again, forming Plattsburg Bay, which is a deep indenta- 
tion of the shore, that leaves a basin open to the southward, and 
which, in form, consequently lies nearly parallel to the main lake. 
The eastern side of this bay is protected by the long narrow bit of 
land that terminates in the Head. Its bottom, or northern end, and 
its western shore, are encircled by the main, Avhile to the southward 
and eastward is the entrance. Near the centre of the western shore 
the Saranac empties into the bay, and on both its banks, stands the 
village of Plattsburg. About half a league from the Head, in a 
southwesterly direction, and quite near the western shore, is an ex- 
tensive shoal, and a small low island, which commands the approach 
to the bay in that direction. At this spot, which is called Crab 
Island, the naval hospital was established, and a small battery of one 
gun had been erected. 

Captain M'Donough had chosen an anchorage a little to the south 
of the outlet of the Saranac. His vessels lay in a line parallel to the 
coast, extending north and south, and distant from the western shore 
near two miles. The last vessel at the southward was so near the 
shoal, as to prevent the English from passing that end of the line, 
while all the ships lay so far out towards Cumberland Head, as to 
bring the enemy within reach of carronades, should he enter the bay 
on that side. The Eagle, Captain Henley, lay at the northern ex- 
tremity of the American line, and what might, during the battle, 
have been called its head, the wind being at the northward and east- 
ward ; the Saratoga, Captain M'Donough's own vessel, was second ; 
the Ticonderoga, Lieutenant Commandant Cassin, third ; and the 
Preble, Lieutenant Charles Budd, last. The Preble lay a little far- 
ther south than the pitch of Cumberland Head. The first of these 
vessels just mentioned was a brig of 20 guns, and 150 men, all told; 
the second a ship of 26 guns, and 212 men ; the third a schooner of 
17 guns and 1 10 men ; the last a sloop, or cutter, of 7 guns and 30 
men. The metal of all these vessels, as well as those of the enemy, 
was unusually heavy, there being no swell in the lake to render it 
dangerous. The Saratoga mounted 8 long twenty-fours, G forty- 
two, and 12 thirty-two-pound carronades ; the Ticonderoga 4 long 
eighteens, 8 long twelves, and 4 thirty-two-pound carronades, and 
one eighteen-pound columbiad ; the Preble 7 long nines. In addi- 
tion to these four vessels, the Americans had 10 galleys, or gun- 
boats, six large and four small. Each of the former mounted a long 
twenty-four, and an eighteen pound columbiad ; each of the latter 
one long twelve. The galleys, on an average, had about 35 men 
each. The total force of the Americans present consisted, conse- 



214 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

quently, of 14 vessels, mounting 86 guns, and containing- about 850 
men, including officers, and a small detachment of soldiers, who did 
duty as marines, none of the corps having been sent on Lake Cliam- 
plain. To complete his order of battle, Captain M'Donough direct- 
ed two of the galleys to keep in shore of the Eagle, and a httle to 
windward of her, to sustain the head of the line ; one or two more to 
lie opposite to the interval between the Eagle and Saratoga; a few 
opposite to the interval between the Saratoga and Ticonderoga ; and 
two or three opposite the interval between the Ticonderoga and 
Preble. If any order had been given to cover the rear of the line in 
the same manner, it was not obeyed. 

The Americans were, consequently, formed in two lines, distant 
from each other about 40 yards ; the large vessels at anclior, and 
the galleys under their sweeps. Owing to the latter circumstance, 
the inner line soon got to be very irregular, however, some of the 
galleys pressing boldly forward, while others were less impelled by 
the ardour of their commanders. 

The force of the enemy was materially greater than that of the 
Americans. His largest vessel, the Confiance, commanded by Cap- 
tain Downie in person, had the gun-deck of a heavy frigate, mount- 
ing on it an armament similar to that of the Constitution, or United 
States, or 30 long twenty-fours. She had no spar-deck, but there 
was a spacious topgallant forecastle, and a poop that came no fiirther 
forward than the mizen-mast. On the first were a long twenty-four 
on a circle, and 4 heavy carronades ; and on the last 2 heavy car- 
ronades, making an armament of 37 guns in all.* Her complement 
of men is supposed to have been considerably more than 300. The 
next vessel of the enemy was the Linnet, Captain Pring, a brig of 16 
long twelves with a crew of about 100 men. There were two sloops, 
the Cliubb, Lieutenant M'Ghce, and the Finch, Lieutenant Hicks, 
the former carrying 10 eighteen-pound carronades and I long six, 
and the latter 6 eighteen-pound carronades, 1 eighteen-pound colum- 
biad, and 4 long sixes. Each of these sloops had about 40 men. 
To these four vessels were added a force in galleys, or gun-boats, 
which Sir George Prevost, in his published accounts, states at twelve 
in number, and Captain M'Donough at thirteen. These vessels 
were similarly constructed to the American galleys, eight mounting 
two, and the remainder but one gun each. Thus the whole force of 
Captain Downie consisted of sixteen or seventeen vessels, as the 
case may have been, mounting in all, 95 or 96 guns, and carrying 
about 1000 men. 

On the 3d of September, the British gun-boats sailed from Isle 
aux Noix, under the orders of Captain Pring, to cover the left flank 
of their army, then marching on Plattsbnrg, and on the 4th that offi- 

*This statement is different from ihe pvililielicd account of Captain M'Donouc:h, who 
made the force of the Confiance 3!) irun'f, of calibers varying a little from those ,t:iven here. 
There were 39 puns on board the Confiance, but two of them were not mounted, or in- 
tended to be mounted. Captain M'Donough's report was probably made on the repre- 
sentation of some one who had not ])roporly examined the English ship. That given 
here is taken from an officer who was on board the Confiance within ten minutes after 
the Linnet struck, and who was in charge of her for two months. 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 215 

cer took possession of Isle au Motte, where he constructed a battery, 
and landed some supplies for the troops. On the 8th, the four large 
vessels arrived under Captain Downie, but remained at anchor until 
the 11th, waiting to receive some necessaries. At daylight, on the 
morning just mentioned, the whole force weighed, and moved for- 
ward in a body. 

The guard-boat of the Americans pulled in shortly after the sun 
had risen, and announced the approach of the enemy. As the wind 
was fair, a good working breeze at the northward and eastward. 
Captain IM'Donough ordered the vessels cleared, and preparations 
made to fioht at anchor. Eight bells were striking in the American 
squadron, as the upper sails of the English vessels were seen passing 
alono- the land, in the main lake; on their way to double Cumber- 
land Head, in order to enter the bay. The enemy had the wind 
rather on his larboard quarter, the booms of his cutters swinging out 
to starboard. The Finch led, succeeded by the Contiance, Linnet, 
and Chubb, while the gun-boats, all of which, as well as those of the 
Americans, had two latine sails, followed without much order, keep- 
ing just clear of the shore. 

The first vessel that came round the Head was a sloop, which is 
said to have carried a comjjany of amateurs, and which took no part 
■in the engagement. She kept well to leeward, and stood down 
towards Crab Island, and was soon unobserved.* The Finch came 
next, and soon after the other large vessels of the enemy opened from 
behind the land, and hauled up to the wind in a line abreast, lying- 
to until their galleys could join. The latter passed to leeward, and 
formed in the same manner as their consorts. The two squadrons 
were now in plain view of each other, distant about a league. As 
soon as the gun-boats were in their stations, and the different com- 
manders had received their orders, the English filled, with their star- 
board tacks aboard, and headed in towards the American vessels, in 
a line abreast, the Chubb to windward, and the Finch to leeward, 
most of the gun-boats, however, being to leeward of the latter. The 
movements of the Finch had been a little singular ever since she led 
round the Head, for she is said not to have hove-to, but to have run 
off, half way to Crab Island, with the wind abeam, then to have 
tacked and got into her station, after the other vessels had filled. 
This movement was probably intended to reconnoitre, or to menace 
the rear of the Americans. The enemy was now standing in, close- 
hauled, the Chubb looking well to windward of the Eagle, the vessel 
that lay at the head of the American line, the Linnet laying her 
course for the bows of the same brig, the Confiance intending to fetch 
far enough ahead of the Saratoga to lay that ship athwart hawse, 
and the Finch, with the gun-boats, standing for the Ticonderoga 
and Preble. 

Captain M'Donough had taken his anchorage with the eye of a 

"As the character of this vessel was not at first known, it is not impossible that Cap- 
tain M'Donough mistook her for one of the gun-boats, more especially as she is said to 
have subsequently fled with them, which would account for the fact of his stating the 
latter at one more than Sir George Prevost, who doubtless had an accurate knowledge 
of Captain Downie's force. 



216 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

seaman. As has been mentioned, his Une could not be doubled, on 
account of the shoal ; there was not room to anchor on his broadside 
out of reach of the carronades, that formed so large a portion of his 
armaments ; and in order to close, it was necessary, let the wind 
blow as it might, to stand in upon his vessels, bows on. Though the 
latter was an experiment not to be rashly attempted, the English, 
accustomed to see it succeed in their European conflicts, did not 
hesitate to adopt it, on this occasion, most probably presuming 
on their knowledge of the large proportion of short guns, in the ves- 
sels of their adversaries. 

As a matter of course, the Americans were anchored with springs. 
But not content with this customary arrangement. Captain 
M'Donough had laid a hedge broad oft' on each bow of the Saratoga, 
and brought their hawsers in, upon the two quarters, letting them 
hang in bights, under water. This timely precaution gained the 
victory. 

As the enemy filled, the American vessels sprung their broadsides 
to bear, and a few minutes passed in the solemn and silent expecta- 
tion, that, in a disciplined sliip, always precedes a battle. Suddenly 
the Eagle discharged, in quick succession, the four long eighteens 
in broadside. In clearing the decks of the Saratoga, some hen- 
coops were thrown overboard, and the poultry had been permitted ' 
to run at large. Startled by the reports of the guns, a young cock 
flew upon a gun slide, clapped his wings and crowed. At this ani- 
mated sound, the men spontaneously gave three cheers. This little 
occurrence relieved the usual breathing time, between preparation 
and tlie combat, and it had a powerful influence on the known ten- 
dencies of the seamen. Still Captain M'Donough did not give the 
order to commence, although the enemy's galleys now opened, for 
it was apparent that the fire of the Eagle, which vessel continued to 
engage, was useless. As soon, however, as it was seen that her shot 
told, Captain M'Donough, himself, sighted a long twenty-four, and 
the gun was fired. This shot is said to have struck the Confiance 
near the outer hawsehole, and to have passed the length of her deck, 
killiu"- and wounding several men, and carrying away the wheel. It 
was a signal for all the American long guns to open, and it was soon 
seen that tlie English commanding ship, in particular, was suffering 
heavily. Still the enemy advanced steadily, and in the most gallant 
manner, confident if he could get the desired position with his vessels, 
that the great weight of the Confiance would at once decide the fate 
of the day. But lie had miscalculated his own powers of endurance, 
and not improbably those of annoyance possessed by the Americans. 
The anchors of the Confiance were hanging by the stoppers, in 
readiness to let go, and the larboard bower was soon cut away, as 
well as a spare anchor in the larboard fore-chains. In short, after 
bearing the fire of the American vessels as lonsr as possible, and the 
wind be<rinning to baffle. Captain Downie found himself reduced to 
the necessity of anchoring while still at the distance of about a quar- 
ter of a mile from the American line. The helm was put a-port, the 
ship shot into the wind, and a hedge was let go, while the vessel took 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 217 

a sheer, and brought up with her starboard bower. In doing the 
latter, however, the kedge was fouled and became of little use. In 
coming to, the halyards were let run, and the shij3 hauled up her 
courses. At this time the Linnet and Chubb were still standing in, 
farther to windward, and the former, as her guns bore, fired abroad- 
side at the Saratoga. The Linnet soon after anchored, somewhat 
nearer t-han the Confiance, getting: a very favourable position for- 
ward of the Eagle's beam. The Chubb kept under way, intending, 
if possible, to rake the American line. The Finch got abreast of the 
Ticonderoga, under her sweeps, supported by the gun-boats. 

The English vessel came-to in very handsome style, nor did the 
Confiance fire a single gun until secured, although the entire Amer- 
ican line was now engaged with all its force. As soon as Captain 
Downie had performed this duty, in a seaman-like manner, his ship 
appeared a sheet of fire, discharging all her guns at nearly the same 
instant, pointed principally at the Saratoga. The efl:ect of a broad- 
side, thrown from 16 long twenty-fours, double shotted, in perfectly 
smooth water, with guns levelled to point-blank range, and coolly 
sighted, was terrible in the little ship that received it. After the 
crash had subsided, Captain M'Donough saw that near half his 
crew was on the deck, for many had been knocked down Avho sus- 
tained no real injuries. It is supposed, however, that about 40 men, 
or near one-fifth of her complement, were killed and wounded on 
board the Saratoga, by this single discharge. The hatches had 
been fistened down, as usual, but the bodies so cumbered the deck, 
that it was found necessary to remove the fastenings and to pass 
them below. The effect continued but a moment, when the ship 
resumed her fire as gallantly as ever. Among the slain, however, 
was Mr. Peter Gamble, the first lieutenant.* By this early loss, but 
one officer of that rank, Acting Lieutenant Vallette, was left in the 
Saratoga. 

On ^he part of the principal vessels, the battle now became a 
steady, animated, but as guns were injured, a gradually decreasing 
cannonade. Still the character of the battle was relieved by several 
little incidents that merit notice. The Chubb, while mananivring 
near tlie head of the American line, received a broadside from the 
Eagle that crippled her, and she drifted down between the opposing 
vessels, until near the Saratoga, which ship fired a shot into her, and 
she immediately struck. Mr. Piatt, one of the Saratoga's midship- 
men, was sent with a boat to take possession. This young officer 
threw the prize a line, and towed her down astern of the Saratoga, 
and in-shore, anchoring her near the mouth of the Saranac. This 
little success occurred within a quarter of an hour after the enemy 
had anchored, and was considered a favourable omen, though all 
well knew that on the Confiance alone depended the fate of the day. 

' Tliis joiing officer was on his knees sighting the bow gun, when a shot entered the 
port, split the quoin, drove a portion of it "against his breast, and laid him dead on the 
dock without breaking his skin. Fifteen minutes later, one of the American .shot struck 
the muzzle of a twenty- four, on board the Confiance, dismounted it, sending it bodily in- 
board, against the groin of Captain Downie, killing him, also, without breaking the skin. 



218 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

The Chubb had suffered materially, nearly half of her people having 
been killed and wounded.* 

About an hour later, the Finch was also driven out of her berth, 
by the Ticonderoga, and being crippled, she drifted down upon Crab 
Island Shoal, v/here, receiving a shot or two from the gun mounted 
in the battery, she struck, and was taken possession of by the invalids 
belonging to the hospital. At this end of the line, the British galleys 
early made several desperate efforts to close, and soon after the Finch 
had drifted away, they forced the Preble out of the American line, 
that vessel cutting her cable, and shifting her anchorage to a station 
considerably in-shore, where she was of no more service through- 
out the day. The rear of the American line was certainly its weakest 
point ; and having compelled the little Preble to retreat, the enemy's 
galleys were emboldened to renew their efforts against the vessel 
ahead of her, which was the Ticonderoga. This schooner, how- 
ever, was better able to resist them, and she was very nobly fought. 
Her spirited commander. Lieutenant Commandant Cassin, walked 
the taffrail, where he could watch the movements of the enemy's 
galleys, amidst showers of canister and grape, directing discharges 
of bags of musket-balls, and other light missiles, effectually keeping 
the British at bay. Several times the English galleys, of which many 
were very gallantly fought, closed quite near, with an intent to 
board, but tlie great steadiness on board the Ticonderoga beat them 
back, and completely covered the rear of the line for the reraaiuder 
of the day. So desperate were some of the assaults, notwithstand- 
ing, that the galleys have been described as several times getting 
nearly within a looat-hook's length of the schooner, and their 
people as rising froin the sweeps in readiness to spring. 

While these reverses and successes were occurring in the rear of 
the two lines, the Americans were suffering heavily at the other ex- 
tremity. The Linnet had got a very commanding position, and she 
was very admirably fousfht ; while the Eagle, which received all her 
fire, and part of that of the Confiance, having lost her springs, found 
herself so shuated, as not to be able to bring her guns fairly to bear 
on either of the enemy's vessels. Captain Henley had run his top- 
sail-yards, with the sails stopped, to the mast-heads, previously to 
engaging, and he now cut his cable, sheeted home his topsails, cast 
the brig, and running down, anchored by the stern, between the 
Saratoga and Ticonderoga, necessarily a little in-shore of both. 
Here he opened afresh, and with better effect, on the Confiance and 
galleys, using his larboard guns. But this movement left the Sara- 
toga exposed to nearly the whole fire of the Linnet, which brig now 
sprung her broadside in a manner to I'ake the American ship on 
her bows. 

Shortly after this important change had occurred at the head of 
the lines, the fire of the two ships began materially to lessen, as gun 
after gun became disabled ; the Saratoga, in particular, having had 

*Mr. Piatt was employed in a boat more than once on that day. While thus engaged 
a twenty-four-pound shot passed through his boat, which was only kept from sinking by 
silling on the gunwale . 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 219 

all her long pieces rendered useless by shot, while most of the car- 
ronades were dismounted, either in the same manner, or in conse- 
quence of a disposition in the men to overcharge them.* At length 
but a single carronade remained in the starboard batteries, and on 
firing it, tlie navel-bolt broke, the gun flew off the carriage, and it 
actually fell down the main hatch. By this accident, the American 
commanding ship was left in the middle of the battle, without a single 
available gun. Nothing remained, but to make an immediate attempt 
to wind the ship. 

The stream anchor was suspended astern, and it was let go ac- 
cordingly. The men then clapped on the hawser that led to the 
starboard quarter, and brought the ship's stern up over the kedge, 
but here she hung, there not being sufficient wind or current, to force 
her bows round. A line had been bent to a bight in the stream cable, 
with a view to help wind the ship, and she now rode by the kedge 
and this line, with her stern under the raking broadside of the Linnet, 
which brig kept up a steady and well-directed fire. The larboard 
batteries having been manned and got ready. Captain M'Donough 
ordered all the men from the guns, where they were uselessly suffer- 
ing, telling them to go forward. By rowsing on the line, the ship 
was at length got so far round, that the aftermost gun would bear on 
the Confiance, when it was instantly manned, and began to play. 
The next gun was used in the same manner, but it was soon apparent 
that the ship could be got no farther round, for she was now nearly 
end-on to the wind. At this critical moment, Mr. Brum, the master, 
bethought him of the hawser that had led to the larboard quarter. 
It was got forward under the bows, and passed aft to the starboard 
quarter, when the ship's stern was immediately sprung to the west- 
ward, so as to bring all her larboard guns to bear on the English ship, 
with fatal effect. 

As soon as the preparations were made to wind the Saratoga, the 
Confiance attempted to perform the same evolution. Her springs 
were hauled on, but they merely forced the ship ahead, and having 
borne the fresh broadside of the Americans, until she had scarcely a 
gun with which to return the fire, and failing in all her efforts to get 
round, about two hours and a quarter after the commencement of 
the action, her commanding officer lowered his flag.f By hauling 

* The want of officers was greally felt in this particular. In some instances the seamen 
would put two round shot, and two stand of grape, into a caiTonade, the end of the last 
stand sticking out of the muzzle. In consequence of this mistaken zeal, much less exe- 
cution was done, besides crippling the heated guns, the enemy's sides being found full 
of shot that had lodged. This is the very same mistake as that made by the people of the 
Lawrence, in the battle of Lake Erie. 

t It has been pretendingly said, that all the English had to do, in these circumstances, 
was to cut their cable and ride by the spring. This is of the partisan and superficial 
character of a great deal more that has been advanced, with a view to place one particti- 
lar achievement of the navy, not only above every thing else that has been done by the 
service, but above every thing that has been done by all other services ! 

Had the ronfinnco cut her cable, and swung to her spring, she would have of course 
tended to the wind, and that being to the northward and eastward, she would have 
headed nearly diagonally towards the American line. As the Eagle and Ticonderoga 
both lay to the southward and westward of her, and, at that moment, had little else to do, 
they must have raked her. It has been seen that when the Eagle lost her spring, she 
could not bring her guns properly to bear; nor could any vessel have been well fought, 



220 NAVAL HISTORY. 1814.J 

again upon the starboard hawser, the Saratoga's broadside was im- 
mediately sprung to bear on the Linnet, which brig struck in about 
fifteen minutes after lier consort. The enemy's galleys had been 
driven back, nearly or quite half a mile, and they lay irregularly 
scattered, and setting to leeward, keeping up a desultory firing. As 
soon as they found that the large vessels had submitted, they ceased 
the combat, and lowered their colours. At this proud moment, it is 
believed, on authority entitled to the highest respect, there was not a 
single English ensign, out of the sixteen or seventeen that had so 
lately been flying, left abroad in the bay ! 

In this long and bloody conflict, the Saratoga had 28 men killed, 
and 29 wounded, or more than a fourth of all on board her; the 
Eagle 13 killed, and 20 wounded, which was sustaining a loss in 
nearly an equal proportion ; the Ticonderoga 6 killed, and 6 wound- 
ed; the Preble 2 killed ; while on board the 10 galleys, only 3 were 
killed, and 3 wounded. The Saratoga was hulled fifty-five times, 
principally by twenty-four-pound shot; and the Eagle thirty-nine 
times. After the first broadside of the Confiance, the fire of that ship 
became much less destructive, the shot passing higher at each suc- 
cessive discharge. Nearly all the hammocks were cut to pieces in 
the Saratoga's netting, at the second broadside ; and it was seen as 
the battle advanced, that the shot cut the standing rigging farther 
from the deck. Few persons were hurt by any thing but grape, or 
by the shot of the Linnet,* after the first fire. 

According to the repoit of Captain Pring, of the Linnet, dated on 
the 12th of September, the Confiance lost 41 killed, and 40 wounded. 
It was admitted, however, that no good opportunity had then existed 
to ascertain the casualties. At a later day, the English themselves 
enumerated her wounded at 83. This would make the total loss of 
that ship 124; but even this number is supposed to be materially 
short of the truth. The Linnet is reported to have had 10 killed, and 
14 wounded. This loss is also believed to be considerably below the 
fact. The Chubb had 6 killed, and 10 wounded. The Finch was 
reported by the enemy, to have had but 2 men wounded. No Ame- 
rican official report of the casualties in the English vessels has been 
published, but by an estimate made on the best data that could be 
found, the Linnet was thought to have lost 50 men, and the two 

at anchor, that day, without a spring, in the positions occupied by the two squadrons. 
The Confiance did not let go her kedge in the place that was intended ; but it was of so 
much use that it kept her broadside square with the American line, though it would not 
suiRce to wind her, under fire. 

It was an advantage possessed by the English, in the Battle of Plattsburg Bay, that 
their springs were on their off sides, and in a great measure protected from shot by the 
hulls of their vessels. 

* On inquiring into a circumstance so curious, when the ships lay at the same distance 
and in smooth water, the American officers came to the conclusion that the enemy had 
levelled his guns to point-blank range, previously to engaging, and that as the quoins 
w^ere loosened at each discharge, they were not properly replaced. There is no question 
that the fire of the Americans produced a great impression on board the Confiance, and 
that while making the abortive attempt to wind, that ship was in great confusion. After 
the battle, the charges of her guns were drawn, and on the side she had fought, one gun 
was found with a canvass bag holding two round shot, rammed home and wadded, with- 
out any powder ; another with two cartridges and no shot ; and a third with a wad below 
the cartridge. 



S'liiiilhic' a 



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1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 221 

smaller vessels taken, about 30 between them. No account, what- 
ever has been published of the casualties on board the English galleys, 
though the slaughter in them is believed to have been very heavy. 
An impression has prevailed with the public, that these galleys did 
not support their commander, but in the American fleet, they were 
thought to have behaved with great gallantry, and to have fully sus- 
tained their share of the battle. They are also believed to have 
suffered in a just proportion, from the lire of the Ticonderoga, in 
particular. 

As soon as the Linnet struck, a lieutenant was sent to take posses- 
sion of the Conflance. Bad as was the situation of the Saratoga, 
that of this prize was much worse. She had been hulled 105 times; 
Iiad probably near, if not quite, half her people killed and wounded; 
and this formidable floating battery was reduced to helpless impo- 
tency. She had not been surrendered a moment too soon. 

As the boarding oflicer was passing along the deck of the prize, he 
accidentally ran against a lock-string, and fired one of the Confiance's 
starboard guns, which sent its shot in the direction of Cumberland 
Head. Up to this moment, the English galleys had been slowly 
drifting to leeward, with their colours down, apparently waiting to be 
taken possession of; but at the discharge of this gun, which may have 
been understood as a signal, one or two of them began to move slowly 
off, and soon after the others followed, pulling but a very few sweeps. 
It is not known that one of them hoisted her ensign. Captain JM'Do- 
nough made a signal for the American galleys to follow, but it was 
discovered that their men were wanted at the pumps of some of the 
larger vessels, to keep them from sinking, the water being found over 
the berth-deck of the Linnet, and the signal was revoked. As there 
was not a mast that would bear any canvass among all the larger 
vessels, the English galleys escaped, though they went ofl' slowly and 
irregularly, as if distrusting their own liberty. 

Captain M'Donough applauded the conduct of all the officers of 
the Saratoga. Mr. Gamble died at his post, fighting bravely ; Mr. 
Vallette, the only lieutenant left, displayed the cool discretion that 
marks the character of this highly respectable and firm officer;* and 
Mr. Brum, the master, who was entrusted with the important duty 
of winding the ship, never lost his self-possession for an instant. 
Captain Heidey praised the conduct of his ofllicers, as did Lieutenant 
Commandant Cassin. The galleys behaved very unequally, but the 
Borer, Mr. Conovcr;t Netley, IVlr. Breese ;| one under the orders 
of Mr. Robins, a master, and one or two more were considered to 
have been very gallantly handled 

There was a common feeling oi admiration at the manner in which 
the Ticonderoga, Lieutenant Commandant Cassin, defended the 
rear of the line, and at the noble co.uluct of all on board hei-. Once 
or twice the nearest vessels thought iiat schooner in flames, in con- 
sequence of the awful rapidity of her fire. 

The Saratoga was twice on fire by hot shot thrown from the Con- 
fiance, her spanker having been nearly consumed. This fact has 

•Now Captain Lavallctte. t Now Commander Conover. tNow Captain Breese. 
VOL. II. 14 



222 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

been denied, or the shot attributed to the batteries on the shore ; but 
never by any respectable authority. No battery from the American 
shore, with the exception of the gun or two fired at the Finch from 
Crabb Island, took any part in tlie naval encounter; nor could any, 
without endangering the American vessels equally with the enemy. 
Indeed the distance renders it questionable whether shot would have 
reached with eflect, as Captain M'Donough had anchored far off the 
land, in order to compel the enemy to come within range of his 
short guns. 

The Americans found a furnace on board the Confiance, with eight 
or ten heated shot in it, though the fact is not stated with any view 
to attribute it to the enemy as a fault. It was an advantage that he 
possessed, most probably, in consequence of the presence of a party 
of artillerists. 

Captain M'Donough, who was already very favourably known to 
the service, for his personal intrepidity, obtained a vast accession of 
reputation, by the results of this day. His dispositions for receiving 
the attack, were highly judicious and seaman-like. By the manner 
in which he anchoi-ed his vessels, with the shoal so near the rear of 
his line as to cover that extremity, and the land of Cumberland Head 
so near his broadside as necessarily to bring the enemy within reach 
of his short guns, he completely made all his force available. The 
English were not near enough, perhaps, to give to carronades their 
full effect, but this disadvantage was unavoidable, the assailing party 
having, of course, some choice in the distance. All that could be 
obtained, under the circumstances, appears to have been secured, 
and the result proved the wisdom of the actual arrangement. The 
personal deportment of Captain M'Donough in this engagement, 
like that of Captain Perry in the battle of Lake Erie, was the subject 
of general admiration in his little squadron. His coolness was un- 
disturbed throughout all the trying scenes on board his own ship, and 
although lying against a vessel of double the force, and nearly double 
the tonnage of the Saratoga, he met and resisted her attack with a 
constancy that seemed to set defeat at defiance. The winding of the 
Saratoga, under such circumstances, exposed as she was to the rak- 
ing broadsides of the Confiance and Linnet, especially the latter, 
was a bold, seaman-like, and masterly measure, that required unusual 
decision and fortitude to imagine and execute. Most men would 
have believed that, without a single gun on the side engaged, a fourth 
of their people cut down, and their ship a wreck, enough injury had 
been received to justify submission; but Captain M'Donough found 
the means to secure a victory in the desperate condition ofhis own ship. 

The deportment of Lieutenant Commandant Cassin* was also the 
subject of general applause in the American squadron. 

Although the personal conduct of Captain Downie, and the gal- 
lantry ofhis attack, were beyond censure, the prudence and nautical 
meritsofhismodepf approach have been very justly questioned. The 
Confiance had been built in a time so short, and by exertions so great, 
as to put it out of the power of the Americans to construct a vessel 

* Nn\v Commodore Cassin. 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 223 

to meet her in sufficient season to obviate the expected consequences, 
and it would be accusing the enemy of total imbecihty, to suppose, 
that after tlie known results of so many combats, he had not made 
his vessel of ample force to ensure the victory. Few professional 
judges will deny that a ship with the gun-deck dimensions, metal, and 
battery of a forty-four, ought to have been fully equal, at least, to 
contending with two such vessels as the Saratoga and Eagle, whicli 
would be at once attributing to the enemy a material superiority of 
force. The plan of the campaign that was destroyed by this defeat, 
the high objects in view, the fact that the English were the assailants, 
and that they could not but know the force they were to attack, to- 
gether with all the other attendant circumstances, are so many as- 
surances that the battle ofPlattsburg Bay was fought on the part of 
the enemy, with a confidence of victory that was only justified by 
this known advantage. Tlie very name given to their largest ship, 
was a pledge to this eflect. Sir .Tames Yeo, whose command ex- 
tended to this lake, complained to his superior officer, that Captain 
Downie had been hurried into action by the Governor-General un- 
prepared, but he did not complain of an insufficiency of force, which 
would infer a grave fault in all connected with the previous arranae- 
ments. That Captain Downie went into action before his own 
crew and vessel had been long subject to drill and preparation, is 
true; and Captain M'Donough was labouring equally under the 
same disadvantage. These are incidents peculiar to sudden enter^ 
prises, and must be met by the resources of seamen. The Constitution 
took the Guerriere with a crew that had been acting together but little 
more than a month, and she was manreuvring before the squadron 
off New York, a much more delicate exploit, within five days of the 
time that a large proportion of her people had joined her ! Captain 
Downie's professional character, as well as his declarations, as they 
have been published to the world, are sufficient guarantees that he 
deemed the Confiance ready to meet the enemy. Sir James Yeo, 
with great reason, complained that this officer had stood into the bay 
to make his attack, a step that brought him under a raking fire, and 
which, no doubt, materially contributed to the loss of the day. In 
short. Captain Downie made an attempt to lead into the hostile 
squadron bows on, a measure that the English had often practised in 
Europe with comparative impunity, but which was an experiment 
imminently hazardous to make under the guns of an American 
man-of-war. Still his bearing was highly gallant; the weatlierly 
position he obtained was much in his favour; and judging from the 
force of his own vessel, could he have got the berth he aimed at, there 
is great reason to think he would have succeeded. That he was foiled, 
must be attributed to the inmiovable steadiness, cool deliberation, and 
admirable fire of the assailed. 

Although many of the American officers were wounded, but two 
that belonged to the quarter-deck were killed. These were Mr. 
Gamble, the first lieutenant of the Saratoga, and Mr. Stansbury,*the 

■" The manner in which Mr. Gamble met his death, has been mentioned. Mr. Stans- 
bury suddenly disappeared from the bulwarks forward, while superintending some duty 



224 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

first lieutenant of the Ticonderoga. Mr. Smith,* a very valuable 
officer, and the first lieutenant of the Eagle, received a severe wound, 
but returned to his quarters during the action. On the part of the 
enemy, besides Captain Dovvnie, several officers were killed, and 
three or four were wounded. 

Captain M'Donough, besides the usual medal from Congress, and 
various compliments and gifts from different states and towns, was 
promoted for his sei'vices. The legislature of New York presented 
him also with a small estate on Cumberland Head, which overlooked 
the scene of his triumph. The officers and crews met with the cus- 
tomary acknowledgments, and the country generally placed the 
victory by the side of that of Lake Erie. In the navy, which is bet- 
ter qualified to enter into just estimates of force, and all the other 
circumstances that enhance the merits of nautical exploits, the battle 
of PlattsburgBay is justly placed among the very highest of itsclairns 
to glory. 

The consequences of this victory were immediate and important. 
During the action. Sir George Prevost had skirmished in front of 
the American works, and was busy in making demonstrations for a 
more serious attack. As soon, however, as the fate of the British 
squadron was ascertained, he made a precipitate and unmilitary 
retreat, abandoning much of his heavy artillery, stores, and supplies, 
and from that moment to the end of the war, the northern frontier 
was cleared of the enemy. 

with the sprini^s. Two days after the action, his body rose to the surface of the water, 
near the vessel to which heliad belonged, and it was found that it had been cut in tw^o 
by a round shot. Both these gentlemen showed great coolness and spirit, until they fell. 
Many officers were knocked down in the engagement, without having blood drawn. At 
one moment, there was a cry in the .Saratoga that Captain M'Donough, or as he was 
usually called, the commodore, was killed. He was lying on his face, on the quarter 
deck, nearly if not quite senseless ; and it was two or three minutes before he came to 
his recollection. He pointed a favourite gun most of the action, and while standing iu 
the middle of the deck bending his body to sight it, a shot had cut in two the spankoi- 
l)Oora, letting the spar fall on his back, a blow that might easily have proved fatal. A 
few minutes after this accident, the cry that the commodore was killed was heard again. 
This time, Captain M'Donough was lying on the offside of the deck, between two of the 
guns, covered with blood, and again nearly senseless. A shot had driven the head of 
the cajitain of his favourite gun in upon him. and knocked hiin into the scuppers. Mr. 
Brum the master, a venerable old seaman, while winding the ship, had a large splinter 
driven so near his body, as actually to strip off' his clothes. For a minute he was thought 
to be dead, but, on gaining his feet, he made an apron of his pocket handkerchief, and 
coolly went to work again with the springs ! A few months later this veteran died, as is 
thought of the injury. Mr. Vallette had a shot-box, on which he was standing, knocked 
from under his feet, and he too, was once knocked down by the head of a seaman. In 
short, very few escaped altogether, and in this desperate fight, it appears to have been 
agreed on both sides, to call no man wounded who could keep out of tlie hospital Many 
who were not included among the wounded, feel the effects of their hurts to this day. 
It is said, that scarcely an individual escaped on board of either the Confiance or Sara- 
toga, without some injury. 

* Now Commodore Smith. 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 225 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Operations on the upper Lakes — Com. Sinclair repulsed in his attempt on Michilimack- 
inac — The Ohio anJ Somers surprised and captured by the British — The Tigress and 
Scorpion taken by surprise — Notice of Henry Eckford — Resources and successes of 
ihe American and British forces on the Lakes. 

After the success of Captain Perry on Lake Erie, the English 
made no serious effort to recover the ascendency on the upper waters. 
During the winter of 1813-14, they are beheved to have contem- 
plated an attempt against a portion of the American vessels, which 
were lying at Put-in-Bay, but the enterprise was abandoned. When 
Commodore Sinclair hoisted his pennant, as commander on this sta- 
tion, an expedition sailed against Michilimackinac, which was 
repidsed. He made some captures of vessels belonging to the North- 
west Company, blew up a block-house in the Naulauwassauga, and 
compelled the enemy to destroy a schooner, called the Nancy, com- 
manded by Lieutenant Worsley. 

While these movements were in the course of occurrence in Lakes 
Superior and Huron, several of the small vessels were kept at the 
foot of Lake Erie, to co-operate with the army then besieged at the 
fort of the same name. On the night of the 12th of August, the 
Somers, Ohio, and Porcu[)ine, all of which were under Lieutenant 
Conklin, were anchored just at the outlet of the lake, to cover the 
left flank of the American works. The enemy brought up a party 
of seamen from below, with a view to cut them off, and about mid- 
night he made an attack, under Captain Dobbs, in six or eight boats, 
most of which were large batteaux. The Ohio and Somers were 
surprised, the last being captured without any resistance, but the 
Poicn[)ine taking the alarm, easily effected her escape. The ene- 
my drifted down the rapids with their two prizes, and secured them 
below. 

In this sudden and handsome affair, the Americans had 1 man 
killed and 10 wounded. The enemy lost aliout the same nutriber, 
by the resistance on board the Ohio, among whom was Lieutenant 
Radcliffe, of the Netley, slain. The Porcupine had no part in the 
action. This surprise was the result of excess of confidence, it being 
thought that the enemy had no force on Lake Erie with which to 
make such an attack. The manner in which the men and boats 
were brou<jht up from Lake Ontario, for this purpose, and the neat- 
ness with which the enterprise was executed, reflected great credit 
on all concerned. 

Nor was this the only successful attempt of the same nature, made 
by the English on the upper lakes, during this season. Lieutenant 
%V(»rsley, the officer who conuDanded the schooner destroyed by 
Commodore Sinclair, had escaped with all his men, and obtaining a 
partv of soldiers from Michilimackinac, and a strong body of Indians, 
he planned a surprise upon the Tigress and Scorpion, two schooners 



226 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

that had been left in Lake Huron after the repulse on the post just 
mentioned. The Tigress mounted a twenty-four, had a crew of 28 
men, officers included, and was commanded by Mr. Champlin. She 
was lyinff at St. Joseph's, on the night of the 3d of September, when 
Mr. Worsley made his attack in five large boats, one of which 
mounted a six, and another a three-pounder, accompanied by nine- 
teen canoes, containing more than 200 men. The night was so dark 
that the enemy got very near before they were discovered, but Mr. 
Champlin* and his officers made a very gallant resistance. The 
schooner was not captured until all her officers had been shot down. 
The guns of the enemy were transferred to tlie Tigress, and while 
she still continued in her berth, the evening of the next day, the Scor- 
pion, Lieutenant Turner, which had beencruising, came in and an- 
chored about five miles from her. Neither vessel had signals, and 
there was no attempt to communicate that night. The next morn- 
ing, at daylight, the Tigress was seen standing down towards the 
Scorpion, with American colours flying, and there not being the 
slightest apparent motive to suspect her change of character, she 
was permitted to come close alongside, when she fired all her guns, 
run the Scorpion aboard, and carried her without difficulty. This 
surprise was wholly attributed to the want of signals, and Mr. Tur- 
ner was honourably acquitted for the loss of his vessel. In carrying 
the Tigress, the cnen)y had a lieutenant and 2 men killed, and 7 
men wounded. On board the Tigress 3 men were killed, and all the 
officers and 3 seamen were wounded. The Scorpion, being sur- 
prised, made but a trifling resistance. These little captures, which 
were very creditable to the enterprise of the enemy, terminated the 
war on the upper lakes, the vessels being shortly after laid up. 

During the winter of 1814-15 both belligerents were building, the 
enemy having laid down a second two-decker at Kingston, while the 
Americans prepared to build two at the Harbour. To eflect this 
purpose in time, Commodore Chauncey sent in a statement to the 
department, by which it appears the service would require 600 ship- 
carpenters, 60 ship-joiners, 120 sawyers, 75 blacksmiths, 25 block 
and pump makers, 10 boat-builders, 10 spar-makers, 18 gun-car- 
riage-makers, 16 sail-makers. 10 armoureis, and 5 tin-men, or 949 
artisans in all. With this force, Mr. Eckford engaged to put into 
the water two ships, to carry 102 guns each, within sixty days from 
the time he commenced, the timber then standing in the forest. The 
order was given, and the work commenced in January. The news 
that a treaty of peace had been signed, was received when the work 
on one of these vessels, called the New Orleans, had been com- 
menced but twenty-nine days. She was then nearly planked in, and 
it was calculated would have been in the water in twenty-seven days 
more. The second vessel was but little behind her, and there is no 
doubt that Commodore Chauncey would have taken the lake, as 
soon as the naviiration opened, with a force consisting of 2 sail of the 
lipe, 2 frigates, 2 corvettes, 4 brigs, and as many small craft as the 

*Nov.' Commander Chamjilin. 



1814.] NAVAL HISTORY. 227 

service could possibly have required. As the enemy had received 
the frames of one or two frigates from Enghmd, and had ah-eady be- 
gun to set them up, it is probable that a frigate would have been 
added to this force, by building her of the timber found too small for 
the heavier ships.* 

The peace put a stop to the strife in ship-building, and terminated 
the war on the lakes. In this inland contest, while the enemy had 
been active, bold, and full of resources, impartial judges must award 
the palm to the Americans. On the upper lakes and on Champlain, 
the English had sousrht general actions, and decisive victories placed 
the republic in nearly undisputed command of those waters. The 
important results that had been expected, fully rewarded this suc- 
cess. On Lake Ontario, the English pursued a dift'erent policy, 
cautiously avoiding any conflict that might prove final, unless under 
circumstances that would ensure victory. 

On Lake Cham|jlain the enemy captured in the course of the war, 
the Eagle and Growler, by means of their army. These two vessels 
were subsequently retaken, under the names of the Chubb and the 
Finch, and the whole English force was defeated. On Lake Erie, 
the success of the enemy was limited to the surprise of the four 
schooners mentioned in this chapter ; while they lost equally by sur- 
prise, the Detroit and Caledonia, their whole squadron in action, and 
a schooner on Lake Huron blown up. On Lake Ontario, the success 
of the enemy was limited to the capture of the Julia and Growler, in 
the atfair of the 10th of August, and the I'e-capture of the latter ves- 
sel at Oswego. On no other occasion, with the exception of the gig 
of Mr. Gregory, and one boat carrying a gun and two cables, did 
any man, or thing, belonijing to the navy fall into his hands. He 

* Henrj' Eckford, the justly celebrated builder by whom all these prodigies in con - 
.struclinar were performed, was a native of Scotland. Ha%'ing adopted his art for a pro- 
fession, he came to the Canadas while still a lad, and passed sometime at Montreal, oc- 
cupied in leai'nina: his trade. In 1791, when only 19 years of age, he determined to 
establish himself in the United States, and crossing from Kingston, he landed on the very 
point, at the mouth of the Oswego, where 17 years later he set up the frame of the 
Oneida IC. the first American vessel of war that was ever launched upon tlie lakes. 
Proceeding to New York, he got into business and soon was known as one of the best 
and most enterprising ship-builders of that port. About the year 1S07 he began to he em- 
ployed by government, and during the whole war he was at the head of the building 
yards on Lake Ontario, where, considering the difficulties with vt'hich he had to contend. 
he gained great distinction by his inexhaustible resources, self reliance, energy, zeal, and 
the liberal and enlarged views he took of his duties. After the war Mr. Eckiord resum- 
ed his calling in New York, building many fine frigates for the South American States. 
He also built the Ohio 80. for government. 

About the year 1829, Mr. Eckford was induced to go to Constantinople, to build some 
ships for the Sultan. While making his an-angemenls to put the Turkish fleet on a re- 
spectable footing, so far as shins were concerned, this enterprising and far-sighted builder 
died of a fever. 

Henry Eckford was undoubtedly a man of genius. He had not been tlioroughly ed- 
ucated in the higher branches of his art, but he raised himself to a level of those who 
were, by the force of his own talents. His notions of the powers of a ship, were just, 
practical, and entirely free from prejudices, and his eye was as true as his judgment. 
As a man he was greatly respected, and as a citizen, he showed a noble confidence in 
the government, by casting his whole fortune on that of the state, at a moment, when 
others, with louder professions of attachment, were distrustful, backvi'ard, and untrue. 
He married early in New York, and left descendants in the third generation behind him 
when he went abroad on his eastern enterpri.se, intending to return to a home that had 
become endeared by the associations of forty years, at its termination. 



228 NAVAL HISTORY. [1814. 

made one exceedingly impotent attack on the Harbour, (previously 
to the arrival of Commodore Yeo,) was beaten in a subsequent and 
more spirited attempt on the same place, succeeded in takinor 
Oswego, and committed some ravages at Sodus, and at the mouth of 
the Genesee. For a few days he also co-operated with his army. 
On the part of the Americans, a spirited attack was made on Kings- 
ton in 18J2; York was twice captured in 1813, as was Fort George 
once; a brig was brought off from York, and a vessel of 20 guns 
burned at the same place; another of 14 guns at Presque Isle ; a 
third di-iven ashore and blown up to the westward of Niagara; six 
gun-vessels and three gun-boats, and many smaller craft were cap- 
tured ; and, at different times, two captains, many other officers, and 
several hundred seamen and marines were taken. Kingston was 
often long and closely blockaded, and, with short and few exceptions, 
the Americans had the command of the lake. The greater age of 
the English than the American frontiei', as a settled country, gave 
the enemy material advantages, of which he fully availed himself. 
Owing to the vast resources of the English marine, Avhicli through- 
out the year 1814 had no other employment than this war. Sir James 
Yeo was enabled to render essential service to the British army, 
beyond a question, though the ascendency was lost during several 
of the most important months of the season. It ought never to be 
forgotten, moreover, that the wealthier portion of the American peo- 
ple, who, as a body, have seldom been true to the nation, in conflicts 
of opinion with Great Britain, allowed their confidence in the public 
securities to be so much impaired, that all the lieaviest operations of 
Commodore Chauncey were carried on by means of a depreciated 
currency ; the securities that reason and truth should have taught 
capitalists were the very best that the world afforded, having been 
suffered to fall into a discredit that greatly impaired the efforts of all 
the public servants. 

No officer of the American navy ever filled a station of the respon- 
sibility and importance of that which Commodore Chauncey occu- 
pied ; and it may be justly questioned if any officer could have 
acquitted himself better, of the high trust that had been reposed in 
him. He commanded the profound respect of the vigilant, bold, and 
skilful commander to whom he was opposed, and to the last, retained 
the entire confidence of his own jrovernment. 



1814-15.] NAVAL HISTORY. 229 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Cruise of the Constitution, Capt. Stewart — Capture of the man-of-war Pictou — Her 
second cruise — She makes two prizes^s chased by two British vessels — engages both, 
and captures the Cyane — She pursues and captures the Levant — The Cyane, Lieut. 
Hoirman, sails for America — The Constitution and the Levant chased by a British 
squadron otT Port Praya — The Levant is pursued into port where she strilics to the ene- 
my — The Constitution returns home — her services and characteras a " lucky ship." 

When Commodore Bainbridge gave up the command of tlie Con- 
stitution 44, in 1813, that sl)ip was found to be so decayed as to 
require extensive repairs. Her crew was principally sent upon the 
lakes, a new one entered, and the command of her was given to Cap- 
tain Charles Stewart. The ship, however, was not able to get-to 
sea until the winter of 1814, when she made a cruise to the south- 
ward, passinof down the coast, and running through the Westlndies, 
on her way home, where she fell in with La Pique 3G, which ship 
made her escape by going through the JMona passage in the night. 
Previously to her return, the Constitution captured the Pictou 14, a 
man-of-war schooner of the enemy. Reaching the American coast, 
she was chased into Marblehead by two English frigates, the Junon 
and Tenedos. Shortly after she went to Boston. In this cruise, the 
Constitution made a few prizes, in addition to the schooner. 

On the 17th of December, the Constitution again left Boston, and 
ran off Bermuda, thence to the vicinity of Madeira, and into the Bay 
of Biscay. After this, she cruised some time in sight of the Rock 
of Lisbon, making two prizes, one of which was destroyed, and the 
other sent in. While in the vicinity of Lisbon, she made a large 
ship and gave chase, but before her courses were raised, one of the 
prizes just mentioned, was fallen in with, and while securing it, the 
strange sail disappeared. This vessel is understood to have been 
the Elizabeth 74, which, on her arrival at Lisbon, hearing that the 
Constitution was off the coast, immediately came out in pursuit of 
her ; but Captain Stewart had stood to the southward and westward, 
in quest of an enemy said to be in that direction. 

On the morning of the 20th of February, the wind blowing a light 
Levanter, from one of those impulses which cannot be explained, 
finding nothing where he was. Captain Stewart ordered the helin put 
up, and the ship ran off southwest, varying her position, in that 
direction, fifty or sixty miles. At 1 P. M., a stranger was seen on 
the larboard bow, when the ship hauled up two or three points, and 
made sail in chase. In about twenty minutes, the stranger was 
made out to be a ship, and half an hour later, a second vessel was 
seen farther to leeward, which at two was also ascertained to be a 
ship. The Constitution kept standing on, all three vessels on bow- 
lines, until four, when the nearest of the strangers made a signal to 
the ship to leevvard, and shortly after, he kept away and rail down 
towards his consort, then about three leagues under his lee. The 
Constitution immediately squared away, and set her studding-sails, 



V 



230 NAVAL HISTORY. [1815. 

alow and aloft. No doubt was now entertained of the strangers 
being enemies; the nearest ship having the appearance of a small 
frigate, and the vessel to leeward of a large sloop of war. The first 
was carrying studding-sails on both sides, while the last was running 
off under short canvass, to allow her consort to close. Captain 
Stewart believed it was their intention to keep away, on tlieir best 
mode of sailing, until night, in the hope of escaping; and he crowd- 
ed every thing that would draw, with a view to get the nearest vessel 
under his guns. About half past four, the spar proving defective, the 
main royal-mast was carried away, and the chase gained. A few 
guns were now fired, but finding that the shot fell short, the attempt 
to cripple the stranger was abandoned. 

Perceiving at half past five, that it was impossible to prevent the 
enemy from effecting a junction, the Constitution, then a little more 
than a league distant from the farthest ship, cleared for action. Ten 
minutes later, the two chases passed within hail of each other, came 
by the wind with their heads to the northward, hauled up their courses, 
and were evidently clearing to engage. In a few minutes, both ships 
suddenly made sail, close by the wind, in order to weather upon the 
American frigate, but perceiving that the latter was closing too fast, 
they again hauled up their courses, and formed on the wind, the 
smallest ship ahead. 

At G P. M., the Constitution had the enemy completely under her 
guns, and she showed her ensign. The strangers answered this 
defiance, by setting English colours, and five minutes later, the Amer- 
ican ship ranged up abeam of the sternniost vessel, at the distance 
of a cable's length, passing ahead with her sails lifting, until the 
three ships formed nearly an equilateral triangle, the Constitution to 
windward. In this masterly position the action commenced, the 
three vessels keeping up a hot and unceasing fire for about a quarter 
of an hour, when that of the enemy sensibly slackened. The sea 
being covered with an immense cloud of smoke, and it being now 
moonliirht, Captain Stewart ordered the cannonading to cease. In 
three minutes the smoke had blown away, when the leading ship of 
the enemy was seen under the lee-beam of the Constitution, while 
the sternniost was lufling, as if she intended to tack and cross her 
wake. Giving a broadside to the ship abreast of her, the American 
frigate threw her main and mizen-toj>sails with topgallant sails set, 
flat aback, shook all forward, let fly her jib sheet, and backed swiftly 
astern, compelling the enemy to fill again to avoid being raked. 
The leading ship now attempted to tack, to cross the Constitution's 
forefoot, when the latter filled, boarded her fore-tack, shot ahead, 
forced her antagonist to ware under a raking broadside, and to run 
off to leeward to escape from the weijiht of her fire. 

The Constitution perceiving that the largest ship was waring also, 
wore in her turn, and crossing her stern, raked her with effect, though 
the enemy came by the wind immediately, and delivered his larboard 
broadside, but as the Constitution ranged up close on his weather 
quarter, he struck. Mr. Iloflman, the second lieutenant of t'le Con- 



1815.] NAVAL HISTORY. 231 

stitution, was immediately sent to take possession, the prize proving 
to bo the British ship Cjane, Captain Falcon, 

In the mean time, the ship tliat had run to leeward, had no inten- 
tion of abandoning her consort, but had been forced outof tlie com- 
bat, by the crippled condition of her running rigging, and to avoid 
the weight of the Constitution's fire. She was ignorant of the fate 
of the Cyane, but at tlie end of about an hour, having repaired dam- 
ages, she hauled up, and met the Constitution coming down in quest 
of her. It was near nine before the two ships crossed each other on 
opposite tacks, the Constitution to windward, and exchanged broad- 
sides. The English ship finding her antagonist too heavy, imme- 
diately bore up, in doing which she got a raking discharge, when the 
Constitution boarded her fore-tack and made sail, keeping up a most 
effective chasing fire, from her two bow guns, nearly every shot of 
which told. The two ships were so near each other, that the rip- 
ping of the enemy's planks was heard on board the American frigate. 
The former was unable to support this long, and at 10 P. M. he 
came by the wind, fired a gun to leeward, and lowered his ensign. 
Mr. W. B. Shubrick, the third lieutenant, was sent on board to take 
possession, when it was found that the prize was the Levant IS, the 
Hpnourable Captain Douglas. 

During this cruise, the Constitution mounted 52 guns ; and she 
had a complement of about 470 men, all told, a few of whom were 
absent in a prize. The Cyane was a frigate-built ship, that properly 
rated 24 guns, though she appeared as only a 20 in Steele's list, 
mounting 22 thirty-two-pound carronades on her gun-deck, and 10 
eighteen-pound carronades, with two chase guns, on her quarter- 
deck and forecastle, making 34 in all. The Levant was a new ship, 
rating 18, and mounting 18 thirty-two-pound carronades, a shifting 
eighteen on her topgallant forecastle, and two chase guns, or 21 
in all. There were found in the Cyane, 168 prisoners, of whom 26 
were wounded. The precise number slain on board her is not 
known ; Captain Stewart, probably judging from an examination 
of the muster-book, computinirit at 12, while the accounts given by 
the English publications dift'er, son)e putting the killed at only 4 
and others at 6. It was probably between the two estimates. Her 
regular crew was about 185, all told ; and there is no reason to 
believe that it was not nearly, if not absolutely full. Captain Stewart 
supposes it to have been 180 in the action, which was probably about 
the truth. The Levant's regular complement is said to have been 
130, all told ; but it appears by a statement published in Barbadoes, 
where some of her officers shortly after went, that there were a good 
many supernumeraries in the two vessels, who were going to the 
Western Islands, to bring away a ship that was building there. 
Captain Stewart supposes the Levant to have had 156 men in the 
action, of whom he believed 23 to have been killed, and 16 wounded. 
The first estimate may have been too hijjh, though the truth can 
probably never be known. It is believed that no English official 
account of this action has ever been published, but the Barbadoes 
statement makes the joint loss of the two ships, 10 killed, and 28 



i 



232 NAVAL HISTORY. [1815. 

wounded ; other English accounts raise it as high as 41 in all. It 
may have been a little less than the estimate of Caj3tain Stewart, 
although his account of the wounded must have been accurate, but 
was probably considerably more than that of the English statements. 
The Constitution had 3 killed, and 12 wounded, or she sustained a 
total loss of 15 men. By 1 A. M., of the 21st, she was ready for 
another action. Although it was more than three hours and a half, 
from the time this combat commenced, before the Levant struck, the 
actual fighting did not occupy three-quarters of an hour. For a 
night action, the execution on both sides, was unusual, the enemy 
firing much better than common. The Constitution was hulled 
oftener in this engagement, than in both her previous battles, though 
she suffered less in her crew, than in the combat with the Java. She 
had not an officer hurt. 

The manner in which Captain Stewart handled his ship, on this 
occasion, excited much admiration among nautical men, it being an 
unusual thing for a single vessel to engage two enemies, and escape 
being raked. So far from this occurring to the Constitution, how- 
ever, she actually raked both her opponents, and the manner in which 
she backed and filled in the smoke, forcing her two antagonists down 
to leeward, when they wei'e endeavouring to cross her stern or fore- 
foot, is among the most brilliant mana3uvring in naval annals. 

It is due to a gallant enemy to say, that Captain Douglas com- 
manded the respect of the Americans, by his intrepid perseverance 
in standing by his consort. Although the attempt might not have 
succeeded, the time necessarily lost in securing the Cyane, gave him 
an opportunity to endeavour to escape, that he nobly refused to im- 
prove. 

Captain Stewart proceeded with his two prizes to Port Praya, 
where he arrived on the lOtli of March. Here a vessel was engaged 
as a cartel, and more than a hundred of the prisoners were landed 
with a view to help fit her for sea. Saturday, March 11th, 1815, a 
little after meridian, while the cutter was absent to bring the cartel 
under the stern of the frigate, i\Ir. Shubrick, then the first lieutenant 
of the Constitution,* was walkini^ the quarter-deck, when his atten- 
tion was attracted by a hurried exclamation from an English mid- 
shipman, that a frigate was in the offinrf. A severe reprimand in a 
low tone, from one of the English captains, followed ; and on looking 
over the quarter, the subject of this little interruption was ascertained. 
The sea was covered with a heavy fog, near the water, and there 
was a good deal of haze above, but in the latter, the sails of a large 
ship were visible. She was on a wind, looking in-shore, and evi- 
dently stretching towards the roads. Examining the stranger, Mr. 
Shidirick went below and reported the circumstance to Cajityin 
Stewart. This officer believing that the strange sail would prove to 
be an English frigate or an Indiaman, directed the lieutenant to re- 
turn on deck, call all hands, and get ready to go out and attack her. 
As soon as this order was given, the officer took a new look at the 
stranger, when he discovered the canvass of two other ships rising 

* Messrs. Ballard and Hoffman being iu the prizes. 



1815.] NAVAL HISTORY. 233 

above the bank of fog, in the same direction. Tliese vessels were 
evidently heavy men-of-war, and Captain Stewart was immediately 
apprised of the fresh discovery. That prompt and decided officer 
did not hesitate an instant concerning the conrse he ought to take. 
Well knowing that the English would disregard the neutrality of any 
port that had not sufficient force to resist them, or which did not be- 
long to a nation they were obliged to respect, he immediately made 
a signal for the prizes to follow, and ordered the Constitution's cable 
to be cut. In 10 minutes after this order was issued, and in 14, after 
the first ship had been seen, the American frigate was standing out 
of the roads, under her three topsails. 

The cool and officer-like manner in which sail was made and the 
ship cast, on this occasion, has been much extolled, not an instant 
having been lost by hurry or confusion. The prizes followed with 
promptitude. The northeast trades were blowing, and the three 
vessels passed out to sea about gun-shot to windward of the hostile 
squadron, just clearing East Point. As the Constitution cleared the 
land, she crossed topgallant-yards, boarded her tacks, and set all the 
light sails that would draw. The English prisoners on shore, took 
possession of a battery, and tired at her as she went out. Assoonasthe 
American ships had gained the weather beam of the enemy, the latter 
tacked, and the six vessels stood olTto the southward and eastward, 
carrying every thing that would draw, and going about ten knots. 

The fog still lay so thick upon the water as to conceal the hulls of 
the strangers, but they were supposed to be two line-of-battlc ships, 
and a large frigate, the vessel most astern and to leeward, being the 
commodore. The frigate weathered on all the American ships, gain- 
ing on the Levant and Cyane, but falling astern of the Constitution, 
while the two larger vessels, on the latter's lee quarter, held way with 
her. As soon as clear of the land, the Constitution, cut adrift two 
of her boats, the enemy pressing her too hard to allow of their being 
hoisted in. The Cyane was gradually droppingastern and to leeward, 
rendering it certain, if she stood on, that the most weatherly of the 
enemy's vessels would soon be alongside of her ; and at 10 minutes 
past one. Captain Stewart made a signal for her to tack. This 
order was obeyed by Mr. Hoffman, the prize-master; and it was 
now expected that one of the enemy's ships would go about, and 
follow him, a hope that was disappointed. The Cyane finding that 
she was not pursued, stood on until she was lost in the fog, when 
Mr, Hoffman tacked again, anticipating that the enemy might chase 
him to leeward. This prudent officer improved his advantage, by 
keeping to windward long enough to allow the enemy to get ahead, 
should they pursue him, when he squared away for America, arriving 
safely at New York on the 10th of April following. 

The three ships of the enemy continued to chase the Constitution 
and Levant, As the vessels left the land the fog lessened, though it 
still lay so dense on the immediate surface of the ocean, as to leave 
Captain Slswartin doubt as to the force of his pursuers. The En- 
glish officers on board the Constitution affirmed that the vessel that 
was getting into her wake was the Acasta 40, Captain Kerr, a twenty- 



234 NAVAL HISTORY. [1815. 

four pounder ship, and it was thought that the three were a squadron 
that was cruising for the President, Peacock, and Hornet, consisting 
of the Leander 50, Sir George Collier, Newcastle 50, Lord George 
Stuart, and the Acasta, the ships that they subsequently proved to 
be. The Newcastle was the vessel on the lee-quarter of the Consti- 
tution, and by half past two the fog had got so low, that her officers 
were seen standing on the hammock-cloths, though the line of her 
ports was not visible. She now began to fire by divisions, and some 
opinion could be formed of her armament, by the flashes of her guns, 
tiirough the fog. Her shot struck the water within a hundred yards 
of the American ship, but did not rise again. By 3 P. M., the Levant 
had fallen so far astern, that she was in the very danger from which 
the Cyane had so lately been extricated, and Captain Stewart made 
her signal to tack also. Mr. Ballard immediately complied, and 7 
minutes later the three English ships tacked, by signal, and chased 
the prize, leaving the Constitution standing on in a diflerent direc- 
tion, and going at the rate of eleven knots. 

Mr. Ballard finding the enemy bent on following the Levant, with 
the Acasta to windward of his wake, ran back into Port Praya, and 
anchord, at 4 o'clock, within 150 yards of the shore, under a strong 
battery. The enemy's ships had commenced firing, as soon as it was 
seen that the Levant would gain the anchorage, and all three now 
opened on the prize. After bearing the fire for a considerable time 
the colours of the Levant were hauled down. No one was hurt in 
the prize, Mr. Ballard causing his men to lie on the deck, as soon as 
the ship was anchored. The English prisoners in the battery, also 
fired at the Levant. 

Sir George Collier was much criticised for the course he pursued 
on this occasion. It was certainly a mistake to call ofl' more than 
one ship to chase the Levant, though the position of the Leander in 
the fog, so far to leeward and astern, did not give the senior officer 
the best opportunities for observing the course of events. There was 
certainly every prospect of the Acasta's bringing the Constitution to 
action in the course of the night, though the other vessels might have 
been left so far astern, as still to render the result doubtful. 

Whatever may be thought of the management of the enemy, there 
can be but one opinion of that of Captain Stewart. The promptitude 
with which he decided on his course, the judgment with which he 
ordered the prizes to vary their courses, and the steadiness with which 
the Constitution was commanded, aided in elevating a professional 
reputation that was already very high. 

This terminated the exploits of the gallant Constitution, or Old 
L'onsidcs, as she was aflectionately called in the navy. Captain 
Stewart, after landing his prisoners at Maranham, and learning at 
Porto Rico, that peace had been made, carrying her into New York, 
about the middle of May. In the course of two years and nine 
mouths, this ship had been in three actions, had been twice critically 
chased, and had captured five vessels of war, two of which were 
frigates, and a third frigate-built. In all her service, as well before 
Tripoli, as in this war, her good fortune was remarkable. She never 



1815.] NAVAL HISTORY. 235 

was dismasted, never got ashore, or scarcely ever suffered any of the 
usual accidents of the sea. Though so often in battle, no very seri- 
ous slaughter ever took place on board Iier. One of her commanders 
was wounded, and four of her lieutenants had been killed, two on 
her own decks, and two in the Intrepid; but, on the whole, her en- 
tire career had been that of what is usually called a "lucky ship." 
Her fortune, however, may perhaps be explained in the simple fact, 
that she had always been well commanded. In her two last cruises 
she had probably possessed as fine a crew as ever manned a frigate. 
They were principally New England men, and it has been said of 
them, that they Avere almost qualified to fight the ship without her 
officers. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



Chase and capture of the President, Com. Decatur, by a British squadron off New 
York — The Hornet, Capt. Biddle, captures the Penguin — is chased ineffectually by the 
British ship Cornwallis — Capture of the cruiser Nautilus, by the Peacock — The buy- 
ing or building of two squadrous of small vessels ordered — End of the war — Character 
of the American navy. 

WuEN Commodore Rodgers left the President, in the summer of 
1814, to take command of the Guerriere, Commodore Decatur was 
transferred to that ship, the United States and Macedonian, then 
blockaded in the Thames, having been laid up, and the Hornet, Cap- 
tain Biddle, left to protect them. This service was particularly irk- 
some to an officer of the spirit of the last named gentleman, and 
persevering in his applications to be released from it, he finally re- 
ceived an order to join Commodore Decatur at New York, where 
the Presidenthad been some timedetained to makepartofthe defence 
of the port, while the enemy was committing his depredations on the 
coast, during the mild weather. No sooner did Captain Biddle re- 
ceive this welcome command, than betook the first favourable occa- 
sionito pass out, leaving the blockading squadron to the eastward, 
and ran down to New York. This was in the month of November, 
1814, and Commodore Decatur had now a force consisting of the 
President 44, his own ship,.Peacock 18, Captain Warrington, Hornet 
18, Captain Biddle, and Tom Bowline store-vessel. His destination 
was the East Indies, where it was thought great havoc might be made 
among the valuable trade of the English. 

Owing to different causes, but principally to the wish of the go- 
vernment to keep a force at New York to resist the depredations of 
the enemy. Commodore Decatur did not go to sea until the middle 
of January, 1815. The President dropped down to Sandy Hook 
alone, leaving the other vessels lying at Staten Island, and on the 
night of the 14th, she made an attempt to cross the bar. In conse- 
quence of the darkness, the pilots missed the channel and the ship 



236 NAVAL HISTORY. [1815. 

struck, beating- heavily on the sands, for an hour and a half. About 
10 o'clock the tide had risen to its height, and she was forced into deep 
water. Although the vessel had received considerable injury, it Vv'as 
impossible to return, and a strong blockading force being in the offing, 
it became necessary to carry sail to get off the coast before morning. 
It had blown a gale the previous day, and Commodore Decatur, rightly 
judging that the enemy had been driven to leeward, decided to run 
along the land to the northward and eastward, as the best means of 
avoiding a greatly superior force. This determination was judicious, 
and, had not the detention occurred on the bar, it would have been 
completely successful. After running off in a northerly direction 
for about 5 hours, the course of the ship was altered to S. E. by E. 
Two hours later, a strange sail was discovered ahead, within gun- 
shot, and two others being soon after seen, the President hauled up 
and passed to the northward of them all. At daylight, four ships 
were in chase, one on each quarter and two astern. The nearest 
vessel was believed to be the Majestic rasee, which fired a broadside 
or two, in the hope of crippling the American frigate as she passed, 
but without effect. It is now known that the enemy had been driven 
down to the southward by the gale, and that he was just returning 
to his station, when this unlucky encounter occurred. 

The chase continued throughout the forenoon, the wind becoming 
lighter and bafiling. The rasee was dropped materially, but the next 
nearest ship, the Endymion 40, a twenty-four-pounder frigate, had 
closed, and as the President was very deep, being filled with stores 
for a long cruise. Commodore Decatur commenced lightening her. 
Unfortunately the commander, all the lieutenants, and the master 
were strangers, in one sense, to the ship, most of them never having 
been at sea in her at all, and neither in any responsible situation. 
The duty of lightening a ship in chase, is one of the most delicate 
operations in seamanship, and it ought never to be attempted except 
by those perfectly acquainted with her lines, trim, and stowage. Half 
a dozen more water casks emptied at one end of the vessel than at 
the other may injure her sailing; and the utmost care is to be observed 
lest the indiscretion of inferiors in the hold, defeat the calculations 
of the commander on deck. On the other hand, Commodore De- 
catur decided to undertake this delicate operation under the most 
favourable circumstances that awant of familiarity with his ship would 
allow, as the wind was getting to be light, and was nearly aft. 

It is not certain, however, that the sailing of the President was in- 
jured by the process of lightening, for she is supposed to have suflered 
materially while ashore, and the enemy obtained a material advan- 
tage by a change in the wind. While it was still light with the Ame- 
rican ship, the British, about 3 P. M., were bringing down with them 
a fresh breeze. Soon after, the Endymion, the nearest vessel, having 
got within reach of shot, opened with her bow guns, the President 
returning the fire with her stern chasers. The object of each, was 
to cripple the spars of the other. It is said, that on this occasion, the 
shot of the American ship were observed to be thrown with a momen- 
tum so unusually small, as to have since excited much distrust of the 



1815.] NAVAL HISTORY. 237 

quality of her powder. It is even added, that many of these sliot 
were distinctly seen, when clear of the smoke, until they struck. 

By 5 P. M., the Endymion had got so far on the starboard, or lee 
quarter of the President, that no gun of the latter would bear on her 
without altering the course. The fire of the English ship now be- 
came exceedingly annoying, for she was materially within point- 
blank range, and every shot cut away something aloft. Still it was 
borne, in the hope that she would range up alongside, and give the 
President an opportunity to lay her aboard. Finding, however, that 
the enemy warily kept his position by yawing, in the hope of gradu- 
ally crippling the American ship. Commodore Decatur decided on 
a course that singularly partook of the daring chivalry of his char- 
acter. 

It was now evident that the sailing of the President was much im- 
paired by some cause or other ; either by injuries received on the 
bar, or by the manner in which she had been lightened, and escape 
by flight had become nearly hopeless. Commodore Decatur, there- 
fore, determined to make an efllbrt to exchange ships, by carrying 
the Endymion, hand to hand, and to go off in the prize, abandoning 
his own vessel to the enemy. With this object in view, he determined 
to keep away, lay the enemy aboard if possible, and put every thing 
on the success of the experiment. The plan was communicated to 
the people, who received it cheerfully, and just at dusk, the helm of 
the President was put up, bringing the wind over the taffrail, the ship 
heading south. But she was so closely watched, that the Endymion 
kept away at the same moment, and the two ships soon came abeam 
of each other, when both delivered their broadsides. All the Presi- 
dent's attempts to close, however, were defeated, for the vessels were 
about a quarter of a mile apart, and as she hauled nearer to the ene- 
my, the latter sheered away from her. Without a superiority in sail- 
ing, it was impossible for Commodore Decatur to get any nearer, 
while the English ship chose to avoid him, and he was now reduced 
to the necessity of attempting to get rid of the Endymion by dis- 
mantling her. The two frigates, consequently continued running 
offdead before the wind, keeping up a heavy cannonade for two hours 
and a half, when the enemy's vessel was so far injured that she fell 
astern, most of her sails having been cut from the yards. The Presi- 
dent, at this moment, was under her royal studding-sails, and there 
is no doubt, by choosing her position, she might easily have com- 
pelled her adversary to strike; but, by this time, though the night was 
dark, the vessels astern were in sight, and she was obliged to resume 
her original course to avoid them. In doing this, the President 
hauled up under the broadside of her late antagonist, without receiv- 
ing any fire to injure her. 

It was now half past eight, and the President continued to run 
ofi' southward, repairing damages, but it was found impossible to 
prevent the other vessels of the enemy from closing. At 1 1 P. M. 
the Pomone 38, got on the weather bow of the American ship, and 
poured in a broadside; and as the Tenedos, of the same force, was 
fast closing on the quarter, and the Majestic was within gun-shot 

VOL. 11. 15 



238 NAVAL HISTORY. [1S15. 

astern, further resistance was useless. Commodore Decatur had 
ordered his people below, when he saw tlie two last frigates closinsr, 
but finding that his signal of submission was not at first understood, 
the Pomone continuing to fire, an order had been given for them to 
return to their guns, just as the enemy ceased. The Majestic com- 
ing up before the removal of Commodore Decatur, that gentleman 
delivered his sword to her captain, who was the senior English otEccr 
present. 

In this long and close cannonade, agreeably to the official reports, 
the President lost 24 men killed, and 50 wounded. She was a good 
deal injured in her hull, and most of her important spars were badly 
damaged. By one of those chances Avhich decide the fortunes of 
men, among the slain were the first, fourth, and fifth lieutenants.* 

TheEndymion had 11 killed, and 14 wounded, according to the 
published reports. As it is known that an order was given to aim at 
the rigging and spars of this ship, with a view to cripple her, which 
was eftectually done, it is probable that this statement was accurate. 
It is believed, however, on respectable authority, that a great many 
shot hulled the Endymion, which did not penetrate, a fact which, 
coupled with other observations made during the day, has induced a 
distrust of the quality of the President's powder. Owing to one, or 
to both, the circumstances named, the English ship lost but about a 
third as many men as the American, though a considerable number 
of the President's people were killed and wounded by the unresisted 
fire of the Pomone, having been ordered back to the guns before the 
latter ceased. 

The President was carried to Bermuda, and both she and the 
Endymion was dismasted in a gale, before reaching port. The latter 
also threw overboard her upper-deck guns. Commodore Decatur 
Avas shortly offer parolled, and he and all his surviving officers and 
men, w^ere subsequently acquitted, with honour, for the loss of the 
ship. An unhandsome attempt was at first made, on the part of 
some of the English publications, to raise an impi'ession that the 
President had been captured by the Endymion, but the facts were 
too notorious to allow it to succeed. Nothing would have been easier 
than for the President to have chosen her position, when she left the 
Endymion, and probably to have captured her without any material 
additional loss to herself, since a ship virtually without canvass, would 
evidently have been at the mercy of one that went out of action with 

* Messrs. Babbitt, Hamilton, and Howell. Mr. Filz-Henry Babbitt was a native of 
Massachnsetts, and a good althous^h an unfortunate officer ; this being: tlie second time, 
in which, as a first lieutenant he had been captured during this war, when a few hours 
out of New York. He was standing on the coamings of the after-hatch, working the 
ship, Commodore Decatur being seated on the hammock-cloths giving directions, when 
the Endymion's first broadside was received. A twenly-four-pound shot struck Mr. 
Babbitt on the knee, and he fell down the hatch, fracturing his skull by the fall. He 
died in half an hour. An order was sent below for Mr. John Templar Shubrick, the 
second lieuteuant, to come on deck and take the trumpet. As this gentleman pa.ssed aft, 
along the guti-docl., ho a.sked Mr. Hamilton, v\1h) conimiuidcii iIk; after-guns, and who 
was his townsman, how he was getting on. While in the act of making a cheerful reply, 
the latter was nearly cut in two, by a heavy .shot. Mr. Hamilton was from South Caro- 
lina, and a son of a former .Secretary of the navy. Mr. Howell, a son of the late 
Governor Howell of New Jersey, was killed on the quarter-deck, by a spent grape-shot 
which fractured his skall. 



1815.] NAVAL HISTORY. 239 

royal studding-sails set. The difference in loss between the two ships 
is easily explained. The first two or three broadsides, are usually 
the destructive broadsides. The President suffered more in the first 
half hour she was engaged with tlie Endymion, than in the succeed- 
inir two hours ; and this was the time when her own fire was directed 
at her antagonist's spars. The f ict that the Endymion did not join 
the other ships until three or four hours after the President struck, 
when, if able to have done so, there was every motive for her to have 
acted otherwise, is perfectly conclusive as to the condition of the 
two vessels, so far as the power of motion was concerned. Having 
the power of motion, by bringing a fresh broadside to bear on the 
Endymion, her capture would have been made certain, a well con- 
ditioned frigate seldom lying long near an adversary, without making 
a serious impression on her hull, when the latter is notable to return 
her fire.* 

The commanders of the Peacock, Hornet, and Tom Bowline brig, 
ignorant of the capture of the President, followed her to sea, about 
the 22d, taking advantage of a strong northwester, to pass the bar by 
daylight. The enemy was seen lying-to at the southwiU'd and east- 
ward, but was disregarded. A few days out the Hornet parted com- 
pany in chase of a neutral, when all tliree vessels made the best of 
their way to the island of Tristan d'Acunha, the place of rendezvous 
appointed by Commodore Decatur. The Peacock and Tom Bowline 
arrived about the middle of March, but bad weather coming on, they 
were driven off' the land. On the morning of the 23d of the same 
month, the Hornet came in, with tlie wind fresh at S. S. W., and was 
about to anchor, having let go her topsail sheets to clew up, when 
the men aloft discovered a sail to windward. The stranger was 
standing to the westward, and was soon shut in by the land. Cap- 
tain Biddle immediately sheeted home his topsails again, and made 
a stretch to windward, and towards the chase, which was shortly 
after seen running down before the wind. There being little doubt 
as to the character of the stranger, the Hornet hove-to, in waiting for 
him to come down, and when he had got near enough to render it 
prudent, the main-topsail was filled, and the ship was kept yawing, 
occasionally waring, both to allow him to close and to prevent him 
givinu a raking fire. 

At I 40 P. M., the stranger having «ot within musket-shot, came 
to the wind, set English colours and fired a gun. On this challenge 
the Hornet luffed up, showed her ensign, and returned a broadside. 
For 15 minutes both vessels kept up a sharp cannonade, that of the 
American ship, in particular, being very animated and destructive, 
the enemy gradually drifting nearer, when the latter, finding it im- 
possible to stand the Hornet's fire, put his helm up and ran down 
directly on the starboard broadside of the latter, to lay her aboard. 
The enemy's bowsprit came in between the main and mizen rigging 
of tl)e Hornet, affording a perfectly good opportunity to attempt 
effecting his purpose, but, though his first lieutenant made a gallant 

* The Macedonian, a merchant brig, that sailed in company with the President, easily 
escaped. 



240 NAVAL HISTORY. [I8l5. 

effort to lead on his men, the latter could not be induced to follow. 
Captain Biddle had called away boarders to repel boarders, and his 
people now manifested a strong wish to go into the En<ili5.h vessel, 
but perceiving liis great advantage at the guns, that intrepid officer, 
who had been so free to adopt this expedient, when it was his duty 
to lead in his own person, judiciously refused his permission. 

The vessels lay in this position but a minute or two, the American 
r&king, when the sea lifted the Hornet ahead, carrying away her 
mizeti riiiging, davits, and spanker-boom, the enemy swinging round 
and hanging on the larboard quarter. At this moment, Captain 
Biddle sent the master forward to set the foresail, with a view to part 
the vessels when an officer on board the English ship called out that 
she surrendered. The jiositions prevented any other firing than that 
of small arms ; this was ordered to cease, and Captain Biddle sprang 
upon the taffrail to inquire if the enemy submitted. While putting 
this question, he was within thirty feet of the forecastle of the English 
vessel, and two nmrines on board her discharged their muskets at 
him. The ball of one just missed the chin and passing through the 
skin of the neck, inflicted a severe, but fortunately not a dangerous 
wound. This incident drew a discharge of muskets from the Hor- 
net, which killed the two nuirines ; the American ship drew ahead 
at that instant, and the enemy lost his bowsprit and foremast as the 
vessels separated. 

The Hornet now wore round, with a fresh broadside to bear, and 
was about to throw in a raking fire, when twenty men appeared at 
the side and on the forecastle of the enemy, raising their hands for 
quarter, and eagerly calling out that they had struck. The excite- 
ment on board the American ship, however, was so great, in conse- 
quence of the manner in which their gallant captain had received 
his wound, that it was with the utmost difficulty Captain Biddle and 
his officers could prevent the people from pouring in another broad- 
side.* 

The prize was H. B. Majesty's brig the Penguin 18, mounting 19 
carriage guns ; viz., 16 thirty-two-pound carronades, two chase guns, 
and a shifting carronade on the topgallant forecastle. She was a 
vessel of the Hornet's class, size, and metal, and is represented as 
having had a spare port forward, by means of which she could fight 
ten jruns in broadside.t Her complement of men was 132, of whom 
12 had been put on board her for the express purpose of engaging a 
very heavy American privateer called the Young Wasp, a fact that 
is known by a letter found in her, from the Admiral at the Cape of 
Good Hope, to which station the Penguin belonged. Captain Bid- 
die stated the loss of his prize at 14 killed an(l 28 wounded. As 
respects the latter, there could be no mistake, though it was the 

* Though this feeling was natural, the wound of Captain Biddle was probably the result 
of one of those accidental occurrences, which are inevitable in the confusion of a combat. 

tOn an accurate computation of the real (not nominal) metal of the two vessels, the 
Hornet would appear to have thrown, at a broadside, about nine pounds more shot than 
the Penguin, the latter not using her spare port. As respects the crews, the American 
ship had some ten or fifteen the most men at quarters. In tonnage the vessels were very 
nearly equal. 



1815.] NAVAL HISTORY. 241 

opinion of the officer in charge of the English vessel, that more men 
had been slain. Some time previously to this capture, the enemy 
had ceased to publish the official accounts of his nautical defeats, but 
a letter purporting to be the one written on this occasion, has found 
its way before the world, in which the English loss is stated at only 
10 killed and 28 wounded. The Penguin was completely riddled 
with the Hornet's shot, lost her foremast and bowsprit, and lier main- 
mast was too much injured to be secured. Among her slain was he'r 
commander. Captain Dickinson, and the boatswain ; and among the 
wounded a lieutenant, two midshipmen, and the purser. 

The Hornet had but 1 man killed, and 10 wounded. Among the 
latter, in addition to Captain Biddle, was the first lieutenant, Mr. 
Conner,* a young officer of high promise, whose life was con- 
sidered in great danger for some time. Not a round shot touched 
the Hornet's hull, nor did her spars receive any material injury, 
though she was a good deal cut up in her rigging and sails. 

The combat between the Hornet and the Penguin was one of the 
most creditable to the character of the American marine that occur- 
red in the course of the war. The vessels were very fairly matched, 
and when it is remembered that an English flag-officer had sent the 
Penguin on especial service against a ship believed to be materially 
heavier than the vessel she actually encountered, it is fair to presume 
she was thought to be, in every respect, an efficient cruiser. Yet, 
with the advantage of the wind, this ship was taken in 23 minutes, 
including the time lost while she hung on the Hornet's quarter, and 
while the latter was waring. The neatness and despatch with which, 
the American sloop did her work, the coolness with which she met 
the attempt to board, and the accuracy of her fire and handling, are 
all proofs of her having been a disciplined man-of-war, and of the 
high condition of that service in M'hich she was one of the favourites. 
It is by such exploits that the character of a marine is most effectu- 
ally proved. 

A few hours after the action a strange and suspiciously-looking 
sail heaving in sight, a cable was taken from the Penguin, and the 
Hornet towed her some distance off the land. After thoroughly ex- 
amining the prize, and getting out of her all the stores and provis- 
ions that were wanted, before daylight, on the morning of the 25th, 
Captain Biddle scuttled her. The Hornet then stood in towards the 
island to look for the strange sail, which was found to be the Pea- 
cock, having the Tom Bowline in company. An arrangement was 
now made, by which the latter was converted into a cartel, and w^as 
sent into St. Salvador with the prisoners. 

As soon as he Was released from this incumbrance, and from the 
great drain on his supplies, Captain Biddle was ready to continue 
his cruise. This spirited officer did not consider the capture of a 
vessel of the same class of his own, a reason of itself for returning to 
port; but, it having been ascertained, by means of the Macedonian, 
a brig which sailed with the President, that the latter ship was pro- 

*Now Commodore Conner. 



242 NAVAL HISTORY. [1815. 

bably captured, Captain Warrington determined to proceed on the 
orififinal cruise, with the remaining vessels. They sailed, accordingly, 
on the 13th of April, having remained at the island the time directed 
in the instructions of Commodore Decatur. 

While making the best of their way towards the Indian seas, ou 
the morning of the 27th of April, the two ships then being in lat. 38° 
30' S., long. 33° E., the Peacock made the signal of a stranger to 
the southward and eastward. Both the sloops of war made sail in 
chase. Though the wind was light, before evening it was found that 
the stranger was materially nearer. It now fell calm, and the chase 
was in sight in the morning. The wind coming out at N. W., the 
ships ran down before it, whh studding-sails on both sides, the 
stranger hauling up, apparently, to look at them. The Peacock was 
the fastest vessel, and beinij two leagues ahead at half past 2, P. M., 
she uas observed to manifest some caution about ajtproaching the 
strano-cr, when the Hornet took in her starboard light sails, and 
hauled up for her consort. It was now thought, on board the latter 
ship, that the stranger was a large Indiaman, and that the Peacock 
was merely waiting for the Hornet to come up, in order to attack her. 
But an hour later Captain Warrington made a signal that the vessel 
in sight was a line-of-battle ship, and an enemy. The Hornet im- 
mediately hauled close upon the wind, the stranger then on her lee 
quarter, distant not quite two leagues, the Peacock passing ahead 
and soon getting clear of him. 

It was now seen that the English ship sailed very fast, and was 
unusually weatherly. The Hornet being more particularly in 
danger, about 9 P. M., Captain Biddle felt it necessary to begin 1o 
lighten, his vessel being crowded with stores taken from the Penguin. 
Twelve tons of kentledge, a quantity of shot, some heavy spars, and 
the sheet anchor and cable, were thrown overboard. By 2 A.M.. 
the enemy had drawn forward of the lee-beam, when the Hornet 
tacked to the westward, the enemy immediately following. At day- 
light on the 29th, the English ship Avas on the lee quarter of the 
American, and within gun-shot. At 7 o'clock she had English 
colours flying, with a rear-admiral's flag abroad, and she commenc- 
ed firing. The shot passing over the Hornet, the launch was cut up 
and gotten rid of, the other anchors and cables, more shot, as many 
heavy articles as could be come at, and six of the guns were also 
thrown overboard. By 9 o'clock, the enemy had dropped so far 
astern that he ceased flring, the concussion produced by his guns 
having deadened the wind. 

By 11 A. M., however, it was found that the enemy was again 
closing, when the Hornet threw overboard all the remaining guns 
but one, the boats, most of her shot, all the spare spars, and as many 
other articles from ott' deck and from below, as could be got at. She 
also cut up her topgallant forecastle, and threw the pieces into the 
oceaii. At ni(!ridian, the enemy had got within a miie, and he begur; 
again to fire, his shot flying far beyond the ship. Fortunately but 
three struck her. One passed through her jib, another plunged on 
her deck, glancing and lodging forward, and a third also hulled her. 



1815.] NAVAL HISTORY. 243 

Still Captain Biddle held on, determined not to give up his ship 
while there was a ray of hope, for it was seen that the enemy was 
dropped while firing. About 2 P. M. the breeze freshened, and got 
more to the westward. Previously to this, the wind, by backing to 
the southeast, had greatly favoured the chase, bnt it nov/ brought the 
Hornet more to windward, antl she began to get brisk way on her. 
At sunset the stranger was more than a league astern, and the ship 
was running nine knots throughout the night, it blowing in squalls. 
The enemy was seen at intervals, carrying sail in chase, but at day- 
light he was nearly hull down astern. At half past 9 A. M., he took 
in his studding-sails, reefed his topsails and hauled oft' to the east- 
ward, and two hours later, his upper sails had dipped. The Hornet 
had now no anchor, cable, or boat, and but one gun, and she made 
the best of her way to St. Salvador, for the relief of the wounded. 
Here Captain Biddle heard of the ])eace, when he sailed for New 
York, which port he reached on the 30th of July. 

Captain Biddle gained nearly as much reputation for the steadi- 
ness and skill with which he saved his ship, on this occasion, as for 
the fine manner in which he had fought her a few weeks earlier. In 
the promptitude with which he had continued his cruise after captur- 
ing a vessel of equal force, the nation traced the spirit of the elder 
officer of the same name and family, who had rendered himself so 
conspicuous in the Revolution. He had been promoted to the rank 
of captain, though it was unknown to him, before he took the Pen- 
guin, but he received the other marks of approbation usual to such 
occasions. His conduct in the chase will be better appreciated, when 
it is added that his ship was as near the enemy, as the United States 
got to the Macedonian, until the latter was fiiirly crippled. The 
vessel that chased the Hornet was the Cornwallis 7-1, bearing the 
flag of an officer proceeding to the East Indies. 

The Peacock continued her cruise, and on the 30th of Jiuie, i j 
the Straits of Sunda, she fell in with the East India Company's cruiser, 
Nautilus 14, Captain Boyce, and, in consequence of Captain War- 
rington's having no knowledge of the peace, broadsides were 
exchanged, when the Nautilus struck. This unfortunate mistak: 
occurred a few days after the period set for the termination of hostil- 
ities, and having ascertained that a treaty of peace had been ratifie.i 
in IMarch, Captain Warrington gave up the Nautilus the next dav. 
The latter vessel had G killed and 8 wounded, but no person w.is 
hurt on board the Peacock, which ship immediately returned home. 

The combat between the Hornet and Penguin was the last regular 
action of the war, and the rencontre between the Peacock and Nau- 
tilus, the last instance of hostilities between the belligerents. When 
the Peacock got in, every cruiser that had been out against the Eng- 
lish had returned to port. 

The burning of the frigate Columbia, at Washington, and the 
blockade of the Javain the Chesapeake, had induced the government, 
in the autur.in of 1814, to purchase or build two squadrons of small 
vessels, one of which was to be commanded by Captain Porter, and 
the other by Captain Perry. The former succeeded in buying five 



244 NAVAL HISTORY. [1815. 

brigantines, or schooners, and he was about to sail with them, when 
the news of peace reached the country. The vessels, which formed 
one of these fljingf squadrons, were the Firefly, Captain Porter; 
Spark, Lieutenant Commandant Gamble ; Torch, Lieutenant Com- 
mandant Chauncey ; Spitfire, Captain Cassin,* and Flambeau, 
Lieutenant Commandant J. B. Nicholson. The first destination of 
this force was the AVest Indies, and it was understood that it was to 
sail with orders to burn, sink, and destroy, without attempting, except 
in very extraordinary cases, to get any thing in. 

Captain Perry was less successful in finding suitable vessels, and 
three stout brigs, called the Boxer, Saranac, and Chippewa, were 
laid down, though built with green timber. Another, called the Es- 
cape, was purchased and named the Prometheus ; but it would seem 
that a fifth vessel had not been found when peace was proclaimed. 
The Boxer was given to Lieutenant John Porter, the Chippewa to 
Lieutenant G. Campbell Read, the Saranac to Lieutenant Elton, and 
the Prometheus to Lieutenant Joseph J. Nicholson. The fifth ves- 
sel would have been Captain Perry's but that officer returned to the 
Java, as soon as it was known that the Flying Squadrons would not 
be used as originally intended. 

Thus terminated the war of 1812, so far as it was connected with 
the American marine. The navy came out of this strusfgle with a 
vast increase of reputation. The brilliant style in which the ships 
had been carried into action, the steadiness and rapidity with which 
they had been handled, and the fatal accuracy of their fire, on nearly 
every occasion, produced anew era in naval warfare. Most of the 
frigate actions had been as soon decided as circumstances would at 
all allow, and in no instance was it found necessary to keep up the 
fire of a sloop of war an hour, when singly engaged. Most of the 
combats of the latter, indeed, were decided in about half that time. 
The execution done in these short conflicts was often equal to that 
made by the largest vessels of Europe, in general actions, and in 
some of them, the slain and wounded comprised a very large pro- 
portion of the crews. 

It is not easy to say in which nation this unlooked-for result cre- 
ated the most surprise, Amei'ic(i or England. In the first it produced 
a confidence in itself that had been greatly wanted, but which, in the 
end, perhaps, degenerated to a feeling of self-esteem and security 
that was not without danger, or entirely without exaggeration. The 
last was induced to alter its mode of ratinir, adopting one by no means 
as free from the imputation of a want of consistency as that which 
it abandoned, and it altogether changed its estimate of the force of 
single ships, as well as of the armaments of frigates. The ablest 
and bravest captains of the English fleet were ready to admit that a 
new power was about to appear on the ocean, and that it was not 
improbahle the battle for the mastery of the seas would have to be 
fought over again. In short, while some of the ignorant, presuming, 
and boastful were disposed to find excuses for the unexpected nauti- 

* This officer had been promoted for his gallaulry in the battle of Plaltsburg Buy. 



1815.] NAVAL HISTORY. 245 

cal reverses wliich Great Britain had met with in this short war, the 
sagacious and reflecting saw in them matter for serions apprehension 
and alarm. They knew that the former triumphs of their admirals 
had not so much grown out of an unusual ability to manceuvre fleets, 
as in the national aptitude to manage single ships, and they saw the 
proofs of tlie same aptitude, in the conduct of the Americans during 
this struggle, improved on by a skill in gunnery, that had never be- 
fore been so uniformly manifested in naval warfare. In a word, it 
may be questioned if all the great victories of the last European con- 
flicts caused more exultation among the uninstructed of that nation, 
than the defeats of this gave rise to misgivings and apprehensions, 
among those who were able to appreciate causes and to anticipate 
consequences in a matter so purely professional, as the construction, 
powers, and handling of ships. Many false modes of accounting for 
the novel character that had been given to naval battles was resorted 
to, and among other reasons, it was affirmed that the American ves- 
sels of war sailed with crews of picked seamen. That a nation which 
practised impressment, should imagine that another in which enlist- 
ments were voluntary, could possess an advantage of this nature, 
infers a strong disposition to listen to any means but the right one to 
account for an unpleasant truth. It is not known that a single ves- 
sel left the country, the case of the Constitution on her two last cruises 
excepted, with a crew that could be deemed extraordinary in thfs 
respect. No American man-of-war ever sailed with a complement 
composed of nothing but able seamen; and some of the hardest 
fought battles that occurred during this war, were fought by ship's 
companies that were materially worse than common. The people 
of the vessels on Lake Champlain, in particular, were of a quality 
much inferior to those usually found in ships of war. Neither were 
the officers, in general, old or very experienced. The navy itself 
had existed but fourteen years, when the war commenced; and some 
of the commanders began their professional careers, several years 
after the first appointments had been made. Perhaps one half of the 
lieutenants, in the service at the peace of iSlo, had gone on board 
ship, for the first time, within six years from the declaration of the 
war, and very many of them within three or four. So far from the 
midshipmen having been masters and mates of merchantmen, as was 
reported at the time, they were generally youths that first quitted the 
ease and cojiiforts of the paternal home, when they appeared on the 
quarter-deck of a man-of-war. 

That the tone and discipline of the service were high, is true ; but 
it must he ascribed to moral, and not to physical causes; to that ap- 
titude in the American character for the sea, which has been so con- 
stantly manifested from the day the first pinnace sailed along the coast 
on the trading voyages of the seventeenth century, down to the 
present moment. 



APPENDIX TO VOLUME II. 



JVote A. referred to page 15. 

"By the honourable George Cranfield Berkeley, Vice-Admiral of the 

White, and Commander-in-Cliief of liis Majesty's ships and vessels 

employed in the river St. Lawrence, along the coast of Nova Scotia, 

the island of St. John, and Cape Breton, the Bay of Fundy, and 

at and about the island of Bermuda, or Somers' Island. 

"Belisle, ^ "Whereas, many seamen, subjects of His Bri- 

Bellona, I tannic Majesty, and serving in his sliips and ves- 

Triumph, I scis, as per maruin, while at anchor in the Chesa- 

Chichester, / peake, deserted, and entered on board the United 

Halifax, I States' frigate, called the Chesapeake, and openly 

Zenobia, cutter." J paraded the streets of Norfolk, in sight of their 

officers, under the American flag; protected by the magistrates of the 

town, and the I'ecruiting officer belonging to the above-mentioned 

American frigate, which magistrates and naval oflicer refused giving 

them up, although demanded l)y His Britannic Majesty's consul, 

as well as the captains of the ships from which the said men had 

deserted. 

"The captains of His Majesty's ships and vessels under my com- 
mand, are therefore hereby required and directed, in case of meeting 
with the American frigate, the Chesapeake, at sea, and without the 
limits of the United States, to show to the captain of her this order, 
and to require to search his ship for the deserters from the before- 
mentioned ships, and to proceed and search for the same, and if a 
similar demand should be made by the Americans, he is to be per- 
mitted to search for any deserters from their service, according to 
the customs and usage of civilised nations on terms of peace and 
amity with each other. 

" Given under my hand at Halifax, Nova Scotia, the lst.Tune, 1807. 

Signed "G.BERKELEY. 

" To the respective captains and commanders 
of His Majesty's sliips and vessels on the 
North American Station. 

"By command of the Vice-Admiral. 
Signed " James Backie." 

No. I. — Copy. 
The captain of His Britannic Majesty's ship Leopard, has the 
honour to enclose the captain of the United States' ship Chesapeake, 



APPENDIX. 247 



an order from the honourable Vice-Admiral Berkeley, Commander- 
in-Chief of His Majesty's ships on the North American station, re- 
specting- some deserters from the ships (therein mentioned) under his 
command, and supposed to be now serving as part of the crew of 
the Chesapeake. 

The captain of the Leopard will not presume to say any thing in 
addition to what the commander-in-chief has stated, more than to 
express a hope that every circumstance respecting them may be ad- 
justed in a manner that the harmony subsisting between the two 
countries may remain undisturbed. 

//. M. ship Leopard, at sea, June 22rf, 1807. 
True copy, 

CHAS. W. GOLDSBOROUGH, 

Chief Clerk N. Department. 

No. II.— Copy. 

I know of no such men as you describe. The officers that were 
on the recruiting service for this ship were particularly instructed by 
the government, through me, not to enter any deserters from his B. 
M. ships, nor do I know of any being here. I am also instructed 
never to permit the crew of any ship that I command to be mustered 
by any other but their own officers. It is my disposition to pre- 
serve harmony, and I hope this answer to your despatch will prove 
satisfactory. 

Signed JAMES BARRON. 

At sea, June 22d, 1S07. 

To the commander of His B. M. ship Leopard. 
True copy, 

CHAS. W. GOLDSBOROUGH, 

Chief Clerk N. Department. 

No. III.— Copy. 

Sir, — I consider the frigate Chesapeake your prize, and am ready 
to deliver her to any officer authorised to receive her. By the return 
of the boat I shall expect your answer. 

And have the honour to be yours, etc. 
Signed JAMES BARRON. 

Chesapeake, at sea, June 2'2d, 1807. 
To the commander of His B. M. ship Leopard. 
True copy, 

CHAS. W. GOLDSBOROUGH, 

Chief Clerk N. Department. 

No. IV.— Copy. 

Sir, — Hnving,to the utmost of my power, fulfilled the instructions 
of my commander-in-chief, I have nothing more to desire, and must 
in consequence proceed to join the remamder of the squadron; re- 
peating that I am ready to give you every assistance in my power, 



248 



APPENDIX. 



and do most sincerely deplore that any lives should have been lost, 
in the execution of a service which might have been adjusted more 
amicably, not only with respect to ourselves, but the nations to which 
we respectively belong. 

I have the honour to be, sir, 

Your obedient servant, 
Signed S. P. HUMPHREYS. 

Leopard, at sea, 22d June, 1807. 
To the commander of the U. S. ship Chesapeake. 
True Copy, 

CHAS. W. GOLDSBOROUGH, 
, Chief Clerk N. Department. 



END OF VOLUME H, 



HISTORY 



OF 



THE NAVY 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



FROM 1815 TO 1853. 



FROM MANUSCRIPTS OF J. FENIMORE COOPER, AND 
OTHER AUTHENTIC SOURCES. 



NEW YOEK: 

G. P. PUTNAM & CO., 10 PARK PLACE. 

1853. 



CONTENTS TO VOL III. 



CHAPTER I. 

Declaration of war against Algiers — Causes of the war — Com. Decatur sails with his squadron- 
Captures an Algerine frigate and brig — Treaty with Algiers— Loss of the Epervier — Settiea 
difficulties witii Tunis and Tripoli — Squadron of Com. Bainbridge — Com. Shaw left in com- 
mand — Organization of the Navy Board— Increase and improvement of the Navy — Employ- 
ment of ships on various stations — Death of Com. Perry — Deatli of Com. Decatur, - Faffe 7 

CHAPTER 11. 

Mexican and South American Revolutions— Paper blockades — Piracies in the West Indies — 
Vessels ordered there — Captures by Lieutenants Kearney and Ramage — Com. Biddle sent 
with an increased force— Captures by Lieut. Gregory — Death of Lieut. Allen — Alligator 
wrecked — Captures by Capt Cassin— Difficulty of suppressing piracies — Com. Porter takes the 
command — Affair at St. John's — Arrangement of Com. Porter's force — Various captures by 
Captain Cassin, Lieuts. Stribling, Newell, Watson, Kearney, Skinner and Paine— Affair at 
Foxardo and Porter's recall— Com. Warrington supersedes him — Loss of the Ferret — Cap- 
tures by Lieuts. Sloat and McKeever — Suppression of the system of piracy, - - - 20 

CHAPTER III. 

Potomac under Com. Downes ordered to the East Indies — Attack of Malays on the crew of the 
ship Friendship — Potomac arrives at Quallah Battoo — Landing of the forces and attack upon the 
town under Lieut. Shubrick — Sharp encounters at the several forts — Malays defeated and pun- 
islied — Death of Com. Bainbridge — Deaths of several of the older Commodores, - - 31 

CHAPTER IV. 

United States Exploring Expedition — Lieut. Wilkes appointed to the command — Sails in Auguit, 
1838 — Progress to Cape Horn — First Antarctic cruise — Loss of the Sea Gull— Progress to Syd- 
ney — Second Antarctic cruise — Perils and escapes — Peacock among the ice — Return to the 
northward — Extensive explorations among the South Sea islands — Attack upon Sualib — Mur- 
der of Lieut. Underwood and Midshipman Henry — Severe punishment of the natives — Arrival 
at the Sandwich Islands — Cruisings among various island groups — Arrival and surveys upou 
the north-west coast — Cruise of the Peacock — Her wreck at the Columbia river — Return of 
the vessels across the Pacific — Rendezvous at Singapore — Course homeward — Mutiny on board 
U. S. brig Somers, 38 

CHAPTER V. 

Capture of Monterey by Com. Jones— Relations of United States and Meiico — Commencement 
of hostilities — Corn. Sloat's movements in the Pacific — Com. Stockton assumes the command 
of Pacific squadron — Co-operates with Major Fremont — Enters Los Angelos — Los Angeloa 
retaken by the Mexicans — Com. Stockton forms a junction with Gen. Kearney — Battles of San 
Gabriel and Mesa— Recapture of Los Angelos — Com. Shubrick assumes the command of the 
squadron — Guaymas, La Paz, and San Jose taken — Capture of Mazatlan — Affair at Muleje 
and Guaymas — First defence of San Jose by Lieut. Hey wood — Various movements on the 
coast — Second siege and defence of San Jose — Garrison relieved by Commander Du Pont — 
Quiet restored in Lower California, ------ 55 

CHAPTER VI. 

Com. Conner on the east coast of Mexico — Blockade — Expedition against Tobasco and Alva- 
rado — Plan of attack on Vera Cruz — Minor towns taken — Loss of the Somers — Landing of 
the American army — Com. Perry relieves Cora. Conner — Bombardment of Vera Cruz — 
Capture of Alvarado, Tuspan and Tobasco, and occupation of Mexican ports — Skirmishes — 
Services of marine corps — Gen. Quitman — Death of Major Twiggs, - - - - 78 

CHAPTER VII. 

Lieutenant Lynch's expedition to the Dead Sea in 1848— Dangerous navigation of the River 
Jordan — Scientific results of the expedition — The Grinnell expedition in search of Sir 
John Franklin — Dangers of the ice — Severe cold and darkness — No tidings of the lost 
Mariners— Proposed expeditions to Japan, China, River La Plata, and western coast of Africa 
— Condition and resources of the Navy in 1863, -.-- -- --94 



NAVAL HISTORY 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES. 



CONTINUED FROM 1815. 



CHAPTER I. 

Declaration of war apainst Algiers — Causes of the war — Com. Decatur sails with his squadron- 
Captures an Algerine frigate and brig — Treaty with Algiers — Loss of the Epervier — Settles 
difiiculties with Tunis and Tripoli — Squadron of Com. Bain bridge — Com. Shaw left in com- 
numd — Organization of tVie Navy Board — Increase and improvement of the Navy — Employ- 
ment of ships on various stations — Death of Com. Perry — Death of Com. Decatur. 

The proclamation of the treaty of peace between the United States 
and Great Britain, was issued by President Madison on the 18th of Feb- 
ruary, 1815. On the 23d of the same month, the President transmitted 
to the House of Representatives, a report from Mr. Monroe, secretary of 
state, on the relations of the United States to the Barbary powers. On 
the same day the President also recommended to Congress "the expedi- 
ency of an act declaring the existence of a state of war between the 
United States and the Dey of Algiers: and of such provisions as may 
be requisite for a vigorous prosecution of it to a successful issue." Con- 
gress complied with this recommendation, and declared war. The 
aggressions of Algiers date back to the year in which war was declared 
against Great Britain; but as American commerce was entirely shut out 
of the Mediterranean in consequence of that war, and as an adequate 
naval force could not be sent to that sea, nor operate safely against both 
Algiers and the British cruisers, it was neither important nor possible, at 
that time, to take notice of the hostile proceedings. 

The spirit of the Dey of Algiers was sufficiently manifest from his 
acts. In the month of July, 1812, he pretended to take offence at the 
quality and quantity of certain military stores which were sent him by 
the United States in accordance with the treaty of lV95. He refused 
to receive the stores. He threatened to imprison the American consul- 
gemeral, and to make slaves of all Americans in his dominions ; and by 
these threats, extorted from the consul a large sum of, money, which he 
claimed as arrearages of treaty stipulations, but which the United States 
denied to be due. And in the end, he compelled the consul and all 
Americans suddenly to leave the country, much to the injury of their 
aft'airs, and in plain violation of the existing treaty. 

He then extended his aggressions to the sea. On the 25th of August, 



NAVAL HISTORY. [1815 



an Algerine corsair captured the American brig Edwin, of Salem, Oap- 
tain George Smith, bound from Malta to Gibraltar. The brig was taken 
into AJgiei's as a prize, and the captain and his crew, consisting of ton 
men, were retained as captives. 

A vessel, bearing the Spanish flag, was seized and condemned in the 
port of Algiers, on the pretence of being an American vessel. In this 
vessel was an American citizen, Mr. Pollard of Virginia, who was also 
retained as a captive. 

Eiibrts were made to redeem these captives, the government offering 
for ransom as high as three thousand dollars per man. But the Dey 
refused to accept the offer, and avowed his intention of increasing as 
much as possible the number of his captives, in order to compel the 
United States to come to his own terms. It was thus manifest that the 
Dey had ventured upon a violation of the treaty for the satisfaction of 
his own rapacity, probably led on by the plausible hope of impunity, 
inasmuch as the United States were involved in a war with the most 
mighty maritime power of the world. There is also sufficient evidence 
for the belief, that agents of the British government incited him to this 
course, flattering him with the assurance that in a short time the armed 
vessels of the United States would be swept from the ocean. The wars 
of continental Europe had almost entirely destroyed the commerce of 
all the states but Britain. Her triumphant naval power afforded a free 
ocean to her merchant fleets. She could afford to pay tribute to tho 
Barbary pirates, while their depredations made commerce unsafe under the 
flag of weaker maritime nations, and thus threw into her own hands the 
great proportion of the trade which was subject to these exposures. Her 
statesmen by no means feared these small African states, but th^y humored 
and endured them for their own national profit. Her navy, which had 
in these very seas, off the Nile and off" Trafalgar, won the most brilliant 
renown and indisputable supremacy, would have deemed it a mere inci 
dental skirmish to drive every freebooting corsair from the highway of 
commerce, and to compel these lawless powers to be most timid and 
faithful observers of the laws of nations: but this would not have been 
politic. These long-indulged pirates could be advantageously used to 
frighten feebler nations from the track, over which British commerce 
might pass unmolested. And the humiliation of tribute was but a small 
price for such an advantage. This charge of mercenary selfishness must 
be admitted in order to account for Eng-land's lonir endurance of such an 
annoyance and outrage. It was far more of an annoyance and an injury 
to others than it was to her; she could therefore contemplate it with 
considerable complacency. The great competitor with her for the trade 
of the world had, for some time, been the United States. The motive, 
therefore, was strong and enticing for inducing a rupture between this 
competitor and the Barbary powers, at a time when the distant govern- 
ment in America could, by no display of force, protect its assailed 
commerce. 

As soon, however, as the war with Great Britain was* concluded by a 
satisfactory peace, the American government turned its attention to the 
work of reopening the important avenue for our commerce, which 
stretched along under the very citadels of these treacherous Algerines. It 



1815.] NAVAL HISTORY. 9 

took the most efficient means to punish their perfidy, and to enforce 
respect for its treaties and accredited representatives. 

The peace had left the entire navy at the disposal of the government 
for this purpose. And after all the losses, hazards, and casualties of the 
late struggle, there was still an eftective foi'ce fully adequate to the pro- 
posed undertaking. Orders vi^ere promptly issued for fitting out two 
squadrons, one at Boston under Commodore Bainbridge, and another at 
New York under Commodore Decatur. Com. Bainbridge was appointed 
commander-in-chief of the united squadrons. The selection of these two 
officers for this service was peculiarl}^ appropriate. It was an honor 
deserved by both, in view of their distinguished achievements in the war 
just closed. It was, moreover, an act of wisdom and policy to appoint 
to the command, officers whose names could not but recall to the mem- 
ories of the rulers of these predatory states, the former prowess and suc- 
cesses of the Americans on this same coast, and whose previous acquaintance 
would qualify them more perfectly to deal with these old enemies, either 
in arms or in negotiations. 

The second division of the main squadron was first ready for sea. 
Decatur, honorably acquitted of all fault in the loss of the President in 
the January preceding, and honored, with this mark of the continued 
confidence of the government, proceeded to his command. The vessels 
under his orders were, the frigate Guerriere 44, Captain Lewis, on board 
which vessel the commodore hoisted his broad pennant; the frigate 
Constellation 36, Captain Charles Gordon; the frigate Macedonian 36, 
Captain Jacob Jones; sloop of war Ontario 22, Commander Jesse D. 
Elliott; brig Epervier 18, Lieutenant Commanding John Downes; brig 
Firefly 14, Lieut. Com. George W. Rodgers; brig Flambeau 12, Lieut. 
Com. J. B. Nicholson; brig Spark 12, Lieut. Com. T. Gamble; schooner 
Spitfire 11, Lieut. Com. A. J. Dallas; schooner Torch 10, Lieut. Com. 
W. Chauncey. 

This squadron sailed from New York on the 20th of May, 1815. 
When a few days out, a gale was experienced, in which the brig 
Firefly was. so unfortunate as to spring her masts, and was obliged to 
return to port for i-epairs. She afterward joined the squadron of Com. 
Bainbridge, and was in the Mediterranean under him. 

Decatur stood directly across the Atlantic, making a rapid passage for 
a squadron. Considering it possible that the Algerine squadron might 
be cruising in the Atlantic, he cautiously approached the coast of Africa, 
speaking every vessel coming in his way, and seeking all the information 
attainable. His desire was to come upon the whole fleet by surprise; for 
the preparations had been so rapidly made, that no rumor of hostilities, 
and of the sailing of a naval force, had, as yet, reached Algiers. On the 
15th of June, Decatur touched at Tangiers, and from the American 
consul, learned that the Algerine admiral had been off that port only the 
day before, and had sailed for Carthagena, at which port he intended to 
touch. , 

He sailed, immediately on receiving this information, to the eastward, 
entering the Mediterranean with the whole squadron ; a part, which had 
separated during heavy weather, joining oft" Gibraltar. 

On the l7th of June, being off Cape de Gatte, a. large vessel was 



10 NAVAL HISTORY. [1815. 

discovered, whicli was soon determined to be an Algerine frigate. Chase 
was given, but very cautiously, lest the Algerine should take the alarm, and 
escape. It is probable that the chase at first supposed the squadron to be 
English ; for the suspicion could hardly have been formed of an American 
force of such a size being in these seas, just at the close of a long naval 
war with Great Britain. By a mistake of one of the vessels in hoisting 
American colors, the Algerine suddenly perceiving his danger, made sail in 
a most seaman-like style, and tried his sailing qualities to the utmost, in a 
strenuous eftbrt to escape. The Constellation had the advantage in this 
part of the chase, and soon opened a distant fire. In obedience to a 
signal from the commodore, however, she sheered off, and the Guerriere 
passed between her and the Algerine, thus enabling the flag-ship to en- 
gage. This, Decatur, with his usual intrepidity and skill, eftected by 
boldly running alongside, so as to decide the combat by a close action. 
As he was executing this manoeuvre, the Algerine poured in upon the 
deck of the Guerriere, a sharp and effective discharge of musketry from 
his tops, by which four men were wounded. Notwithstanding this, 
Decatur still retained his fire, and steadily held on his course, until his 
whole broadside could bear. Then ensued one of those terrific discharges for 
which the American ships had become famous, and which had commenced 
and decided so many bloody encounters on the sea. This produced 
dreadful havoc on board the enemy, and was but feebly returned. 
Another broadside followed, which drove all the men below, with the 
exception of a few musketeers, who still gallantly continued the hopeless 
contest. A formal surrender was not yet made, and there was an evident 
attempt to escape. But the Epervier, light as she was in comparison with 
the heavy Algerine frigate, had been gallantly brought into action by 
Lieut. Com. Downes, and had opened her fire, which had an effect to 
check this attempt. The combat was now at an end, and Decatur took 
possession of the prize. She proved to be the frigate Mashouda, of 46 
guns, with a crew of between four and five hundred men. She was 
commanded by Admiral Rais Hammida, who held the highest rank in 
the navy of the Dey of Algiers. The running fight continued about 
twenty-five minutes. The loss on board the Mashouda was considerable; 
the prisoners stated that about thirty were killed, and thrown overboard. 
Four hundred and six of the crew were taken prisoners. The Admiral, 
Hammida, was killed in the commencement of the action on the part of 
the Guerriere, being cut in two by a heavy shot, on the quarter-deck of 
his ship. His death appeared to discourage his crew, and as a conse- 
quence, the contest was decided more speedily than it would otherwise 
liave been. He was a man of great personal "valor, and had fought his 
way up from the position of a common sailor to the command of the 
fleet. He possessed a spirit which would have impelled him to defend 
bis ship to the very last eftbrt of despair. 

A very sad casualty occurred on board the Guerriere during the 
broadside firing. A gun on the main-deck bursted on its first discharge, 
breaking up the spar-deck, killing five men, and badly wounding and 
burning about thirty others. A piece of the bursting gun passed close 
by the head of Lieutenant John T. Shubrick, but did him no injury. 
Decatur warmly commended the steadiness of the men during this 



1815.] NAVAL HISTORY. H 



accident, of a nature so likely to produce confusion, and he anxiously 
urged upon tlie government the exceeding importance of a more thorough 
testing of the guns. This explosion did far more damage than was effected 
by the fire of the enemy. A prize officer and crew were put on board 
the captured vessel, and she was jgent into Carthagena, under convoy of 
the Macedonian. 

After this successful opening of the war, Decatur still continued his 
search for the main fleet. On the 19th of June, oft' Cape Palos, a brig, 
showing plain signs of being an Algerine corsair, was seen and chased for 
three hours. She ran into shoal water, where it was not safe for the 
larger vessels to follow her. Decatur directed the Epervier, Spark, Torch, 
and Spitfire to continue the chase. They soon opened their fire, when 
the Algerines ran their brig aground, and after a short resistance, surren- 
dered. The vessel was called the Estedio, carrying 22 guns, and one hun- 
dred and eighty men. On boarding her, twenty-three men were found 
dead, and eighty were taken prisoners. The rest escaped in boats to the 
shore : one boat, however, was sunk in the attempt, by shot from the vessels. 
The brig was got oft^ and was also sent into Carthagena as a prize. 

Having learned that notice of his arrival in the Mediterranean had 
been sent to Algiers, and also to the rest of the Algerine fleet, in conse- 
quence of which it had taken refuge in Malta, Decatur concluded that 
this would be the most favorable and promising jtmcture for him to ap- 
pear before Algiers, and try the virtue of his powers as negotiator. 

Commodores Bainbridge and Decatur, in connection with William 
Shaler, Esq., consul-general to the Barbary powers, had been appointed 
commissioners to negotiate a treaty of peace with the Dey of Algiers. 

As Mr. Shaler was with Com. Decatur, the majority of the commission 
were at liberty to take advantage of favorable circumstances, without waiting 
for the arrival of Com. Bainbridge. On the 28th of June, the squadron 
rode at anchor in the bay of Algiers. It may be supposed that its formid- 
able appearance awakened both surprise and apprehension in the breast 
of the Dey. He saw its power, but he had not yet heard of its successes. 
Little did. he imagine that his favorite admiral was killed, and his best 
ship was a prize. The captain of the port and the Swedish consul came 
on board. To them Decatur delivered a letter from the President to 
the Dey, in which complaints were made of the faithless violations of the 
former tre^ity, and the barbarous aggressions against the persons and 
property of American citizens, on the part of the Algerine government 
The letter further expressed the hope of an amicable adjustment of 
difficulties, without a continuance of war, otherwise the utmost power of 
the government would be exerted to bring the Dey to terms. The cap- 
tain of the port was also now first informed of the captures, the account 
of which was confirmed to his satisftiction by the prisoners on board. The 
letter, the force which was on hand to sustain its doctrines, the losses 
already experienced and keenly felt, soon induced in the Dey a more 
humble and conciliatory spirit and demeanor, than he was accustomed to 
manifest toward the representatives of foreign powers. He sent an in- 
vitation to the commissoners to visit him at his palace, and there to make 
arrangements for a final settlement His policy was to enter into a 
protracted course of negotiations, in order to gain time, during which he 



12 NAVAL HISTORY. [1815. 

might take advantage of some more favorable change in his affairs. Such 
delays Decatur wisely determined to avoid. He had the power to obtain 
the recognition of American rights, and he knew that naught but sheer 
power could gain the respect of this half-civilized despot. The commis- 
sioners, after consultation, refused to go on shore, and declared to the 
captain of the port and the Swedish consul, who were authorized to act 
for the Dey, that negotiations must be carried on on board the Guerriere. 
They also presented the draft of a treaty, to which they declared the 
Dey must assent, and the stipulations of which would not be essentially 
altered. In fine, they would have his majesty understand that they were 
to dictate the terras of peace, and not he. This was high ground to 
take in treating with these states ; but it could be, and was, n:iaintained. 

The captain of the port now desired that at least hostilities should cease 
while negotiations were going on. To this request Decatur promptly 
replied, "Not a minute; if your squadron appears in sight before the 
treaty is actually signed by the Dey, and sent off with the American 
prisoners, ours ivill capture itV 

After further discussion, and some slight alterations in the terms, the 
agents of the Dey carried the treaty on shore to obtain his consent and 
signature. In the mean time, a corsair hove in sight, coming in toward the 
harbor, close under the shore. True to his word, that hostilities should 
not cease until the treaty was. assented to, Decatur made signal for the 
squadron to chase. This movement of the fleet hastened matters on 
shore, for soon the boat, with a white flag, was seen coming oft'. It had 
been agi-eed that this should be the signal that the treaty was really 
signed. When discovered, therefore, making all haste toward the Guer- 
riere, Decatur felt obliged to order the chase to be relinquished. 

This treaty secured for the Americans advantages, in some points, over 
all other nations, and in all respects placed them on a footing with the 
most favored. Its principal articles provided, that no more tribute should 
be paid ; that no Americans should be enslaved ; that all American vessels 
should be treated hospitably, and their wants relieved in Algerine ports; 
that the neutrality of the Algerine ports should be maintained in case 
of war; and that, generally, the Regency should subject itself to the recog- 
nized law of nations. The captives held at the time were also given 
lip, and sent on board the flag-ship. 

The prizes, which Decatur had made, were given back to the Dey, at 
his most urgent request, as it was found that they required considerable 
repairs in order to be sent home, and especially because it was urged that 
such restoration of the vessels would go far toward reconciling the people 
to a ti-eaty, which withdrew so many of their long-allowed privileges. 
The Dey was but a late usurper, and sat quite uneasily on his throne. It 
was policy for the United States to strengthen his position with his people, 
as this would be more likely to insure the observance of an obnoxious 
treaty. A little of the secret history of this despotic court is revealed 
in the remark of the Dey's prime minister to the British consul, while 
this work of justice was going on, — "You told us that the Americans 
would be swept from the seas in six months by your navy, and now they 
make war upon us with some of your own vessels, which they have taken 
from you ! " 



1815.] NAVAL HISTORY. 13 

Thus, by decision and firmness, justified by the advantages gained and 
at command, Decatur, in the space of twenty -four hours from his arrival, 
had in his bauds a treaty such as had never been obtained from any of the 
Barbary powers by any of the great nations of Europe. This had been 
accomplished in forty days from the time of his departure from New 
York. In the close of their dispatch to the government, transmitting the 
treaty, Decatur and Shaler say, — " As this treaty appears to us to secure 
every interest within the contemplation of the government, and as it really 
places the United States on higher grounds than any other nation, we 
have no hesitation, on our part, in fulfilling such of its provisions as are 
■within our power, in the firm belief that it will receive the ratification of 
the President and Senate." 

Decatur deemed it advisable to send home one of his vessels with the 
treaty, and an account of his cruise thus far. He selected the brig 
Epervier for this service, and gave the command of her to John Templer 
Shubrick, the first lieutenant of the Guerriere. Captain Lewis was desir- 
ous of returning home, and obtained leave. This left a vacancy in Decatur's 
own ship, to fill which he transferred Captain Downes from the Epervier. 
The latter vessel sailed immediately on these changes, and the termina- 
tion of her voyage is, up to the present time, wrapt in mystery. She 
passed Gibraltar about the 12th of July. A brig, resembling her, was 
seen by a British West-India fleet, during a very heavy gale, and in a 
position where she might have been ; but no distinct information has ever 
been gained respecting her. In her were lost. Captain Lewis, Lieutenant 
Neale, Lieut. Yarnall, Lieut. Drury, and other officers, and also the cap- 
tives who had been just rescued from Algerine servitude, and were 
embracing this early opportunity to return home. Lieut. Shubrick's 
appointment to this command was an evidence of Decatur's high appre- 
ciation of his character as an officer. He had served much under Decatur, 
having now been steadily with him on board the United States, the 
President during the cruise in which she was taken by the British, and 
the Guerriere during the present cruise. With him an untimely end 
terminated a highly honorable career. 

With the prestige of this complete and rapid success, Decatur now 
proceeded to visit the other Barbary states, in order to apply the same 
efiectual remedy to certain evils and wrongs, which had arisen in their 
relations to Americans. He appeared in the Bay of Tunis on the 26th 
of July. Here the American consul, M. M. Noah, Esq., laid before him 
an account of certain wrongs, and requested his interposition for their 
redress. It appears that during the war with Great Britain, an American 
armed brig, the Abellino, had captured an English merchant brig and 
schooner, which she carried as prizes into the neutral port of Tunis. While 
they were lying in this port, and under the protection of the cannon of 
the Bey of Tunis, the English brig of war Lyra ran in, cut them out, 
and cai-ried them to Malta, thus boldly violating the neutrality of the 
port. The Bey took no measures to resist this aggression, but quietly 
suffered it, undoubtedly i-eceiving in some form an adequate remuneration 
for his indifi'erence to his own rights, and to the insult ofl'ered to his owu 
independence. The influence of British agents near his person was felt 
here also, as well as at Algiers. 



14 NAVAL HISTORY. [1815. 

When the facts were properly set forth and established, Decatur de- 
cided upon his course Avith characteristic promptness. He sent a com- 
munication to the Bey, by the hands of the consul, stating the facts as 
they had been recited to him, and demanding full indemnity within the 
space of twelve hours, under penalty of a declaration of war and an 
immediate attack. Mr. Noah landed and was admitted to an audience. 
His interview with the Bey he thus relates — " ' Tell your Admiral to come 
and see me,' said the Bey. ' He declines coming, your Highness, until 
these disputes are settled, which are best done on board ship.' ' But 
this is not treating me with becoming dignity. Hamuda Pacha, of blessed 
memory, commanded them to land, and wait at the palace, until he was 
pleased to receive them.' 'Very likely, your Highness, but that was 
twenty years ago.' After a pause, the Bey exclaimed, ' I know this 
Admiral ; he is the same one who, in the war with Sida Yusef of Trablis, 
burnt the frigate.' ' The same.' ' Hum ! why do they send wild young 
men to treat for peace with old powers ? Then you Americans do not 
speak the truth. You went to war with England, a nation with a great 
fleet, and said you took "their frigates in equal fight. Honest people 
always speak truth.' ' Well, Sir, that Avas true. Do you see that tall 
ship in the bay, with a blue flag, the Guerriere, taken from the British ? 
That one near the small island, the Macedonian, was also captured, by 
Decatui', on equal terms. The sloop near Cape Carthage, the Peacock, 
was also taken in battle.' The Bey laid down the telescope, reposed on 
bis cushions, and with a small tortoise-shell comb, set with diamonds, 
combed his beard. A small vessel got under way and came near the 
batteries ; a pinnace, with a few men, rowed toward the harbor, and one 
person, dressed in the garb of a sailor, was taking soundings. It was 
Decatur." 

After this conversation and due meditation, the Bey very wisely an- 
nounced his willingness to repay the owners the value of the retaken 
vessels and their cargoes. Decatur then landed, and paid his respects to 
the Bey. The money claimed, forty-six thousand dollars, was paid in his 
presence to the agent of the owners. This accomplished, Decatur, on the 
5th of August, showed his squadron before the stern old batteries of 
Tripoli, with the features of which he was so perfectly familiar. With 
commendable pride might he survey this field, whereon had been gained 
the early brightness of his renown. That reputation was now of service 
to his countiy — it aided the display of physical force. Here there was 
a similar transaction to that at Tunis to be attended to. The Abellino had 
also taken two prizes into this port, under the presumption of an efficient 
neutrality. But the British brig Paulina, acting on either the weakness 
or the willingness of the Bashaw, violated his neutral rights, and retook 
the prizes from imder his own eyes. 

The usual demand having been made, the Bashaw at first quite boldly 
refused to comply with it. He even took steps for a forcible resistance, 
drawing out his cavalry upon the shore and manning his batteries. All 
this did not move Decatur from his purpose, but merely led him to begin 
his disposition of forces for a regular attack. The memories of the past 
did not serve to stimulate the courage of the Bashaw, especially the fact 
that Decatur was the commander of the fleet now assuming a hostile 



1815.J NAVAL HISTORY. 15 

attitude in that same bay whicli had been iUuminated by the lurid flames 
of the burning Philadelphia, and where even Moslem fanaticism had 
proved no match for American valor. So the Bashaw concluded to allow 
his valor to practice the lessons of his discretion, and to yield gracefully 
while the opportunity for such a demeanor continued. He paid the claim 
of twenty-live thousand dollars, and gave assurances of better conduct 
for the future. Decatur also had the pleasure of restoring to liberty ten 
captives, two of whom were Danish boys, and the rest a Sicilian family. 

It was now about seventy days since the squadron left New York, and 
the objects of the cruise had been fully accomplished in this short space 
of time. The actual fighting had been very little, and the loss on our 
part trifling. These results are to be ascribed in part to the efiiciency 
and decision of Decatur; yet the best qualities in a commander would 
have been of little avail without an adequate naval force to sustain him. 
The mere display of physical power is ever more conclusive, beyond all 
comparison, with semi-civilized states, than all moral considerations and 
unsupported reasonings on justice. 

It is honorable to the United States that they first placed an efiectuai 
restraint upon the intolerable encroachments of these faithless powers; 
that they compelled the recognition of their maritime rights without the 
continuance of tribute ; and insisted, with the needful firmness, upon the 
careful observance of treaties. The example thus given was soon follov/ed 
by England and other European powers, until these small states, once 
regarded with so much terror, and indulged in their haughty address 
toward their superiors in every element of national honor and greatness, 
have declined into their proper insignificance. 

The squadron under the command of Commodore Bainbridge, which 
followed the one under Decatur, arrived in the Mediterranean in the early 
pai-t of August. It consisted of the Independence 74, which had been 
just finished at Boston under the superintendence of Bainbridge; the 
frigate Congress; the sloop of war Erie; the brig Chippewa; and the 
schooner Lynx. Another detachment, composed of the frigate United 
States, the brigs Boxer, Saranac, Firefly, and Enterprise, under the com- 
mand of Commodore John Shaw, joined the main squadron shortly after. 
On his an-ival at Gibraltar, Bainbridge of course learned that his energetic 
predecessor had accomplished all the objects of the expedition. He 
therefore proceeded, in accordance with his instructions, to exhibit his 
force oft' Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, that he might furnish the most con- 
vincing demonstration of the ability and readiness of the United States 
to protect their commerce and their agents. Interested persons had 
induced the belief among these ignorant people, that the United States 
were bound by treaty with Great Britain, not to build any seventy-four 
gun ships. The first vessel of this class in our navy, indeed, which was 
ever taken to sea, was the Independence, Bainbridge's flag-ship on this 
cruise. Her presence in these waters, therefore, was of consequence, as 
it dissipated this false belief; and this large fleet, following so soon in the 
wake of Decatur's, impressed these governments and their people with the 
power and resources of the United States, and contributed decidedly to 
the maintenance of peace, and the strict observance of treaties. Since 
this active and successful expedition, our relations with the Barbary powers 



16 FAVAL HISTORY. 



[1815. 



have, with slight exceptions, been highly satisfactory. It was necessary, 
however, for several of the immediately subsequent years, to maintain an 
eflicient force in these waters, and by regular visits to their ports, to 
remind these new friends that they were under a close surveillance. 

On leaving Tripoli, Decatur sailed across to Sicily, where he landed 
the family he had rescued from captivity, and thence kept along the 
coast of Italy to Naples. All the rest of the squadron were directed to 
join Bainbridge, while he followed, more at his leisure, with the Guerriere. 
During the voyage from Italy to Spain, he fell in with the remainder of 
the Algerine tieet, consisting of four frigates and three sloops, which bad 
escaped him during the war. Thinking that they might be tempted to 
retaliate, in spite of the treaty, now that they found him alone, he ordered 
his ship cleared for action, and the men beat to quarters. Thus prepared, 
he stood steadily on, and passed the whole fleet unmolested. As he 
passed the admiral's ship, he was hailed with the usual question, "Where 
are you bound ? " He himself took the trumpet, and discarding nautical 
etiquette with his old foes and even yet uncertain friends, quite in defiance 
answered, " Where I please ! " 

In October, the entire naval force was assembled under Commodore 
Bainbridge at Gibraltar. It formed the largest fleet that had ever been 
collected under the American flag, comprising one two-decked ship, the 
Independence, five frigates, the Guerriere, Macedonian, Constellation, 
Congress, and United States, two sloops of war, seven brigs, and three 
schooners — in all eighteen sail. This was rather an unexpected sight 
beneath the rock of Gibraltar, but a few months after the close of the 
English war. 

The purpose, for which this large force had been sent out, having been 
effected, it became necessary for the commander to make a new disposition 
of it. Decatur took the Guerriere home, arriving at New York on the 
12th of November. Bainbridge also sailed for home, taking with him 
his own ship, two frigates, and all the brigs and schooners. Commodore 
Shaw remained in command of the Mediterranean squadron, composed 
of the frigates United States 44, the Constellation 38, and the sloops 
Ontario and Erie, each 18. In a short time also. Captain 0. H. Perry, 
in the Java 44, joined the latter squadron. Bainbridge brought his 
squadron safely into Newport on the 1 5th of November. In his letter 
of instructions to Com. Shaw, Com. Bainbridge says: "The object of 
leaving this force is to watch the conduct of the Barbary powers, paitic- 
ularly that of Algiers, to guard against, as far as the force under your 
command can do, any depredations they may be disposed to commit, 
and to give protection to the commerce of the citizens of the United 
States." Com. Shaw executed these duties with fidelity, until the next 
year, when Com. Chauncey, in the Washington 14, was sent out to 
relieve him. 

The necessity of a more thorough organization of the Navy Depart- 
ment had long been felt, and it was especially desirable that its executive 
administration should be in the charge of individuals, whose professional 
experience qualified them for its practical duties. To meet this necessity, 
Congress, in 1815, authorized the formation of a board of navy com- 
missioners. This board was placed under the superintendence of the 



1816-20.] NAVAL HISTORY. 17 

secretary of the navy, and was charged with all the ministerial duties of 
the department, relating to the procuring of supplies and stores, the 
collection of materials, the construction, armament, and employment of 
all the vessels. Commodores Rodgers, Hull and Porter were appointed 
the first commissioners. 

After the close of the war with Great Britain, an arrangement was 
effected between that country and the United States, by which the naval 
forces of both, on the lakes, were reduced to an equality. It was agreed 
that neither nation should maintain more than one vessel of war on Lake 
Ontario or Lake Champlain, or more than two vessels on Lake Erie or 
any of the upper lakes, and that each of these vessels should carry but 
one gun. 

There was also, about this time, a very strong disposition manifested, 
both in and out of Congress, to effect a still greater reduction of the 
navy, to lay most of the vessels up, to place the officers on half-pay, and 
to dismiss some of the officers of each grade. Some steps were taken 
toward carrying out this destructive plan, but the influence of more 
judicious friends of the navy prevailed, and the general scheme was 
abandoned. On the other hand, the character which had been so nobly 
won by this arm of the national service in the late war with England, 
had established the conviction, with the great mass of the nation, of the 
necessity of its permanent existence as a part of the means of government, 
especially so in the relations of government to foreign states. A system 
was consequently framed for the improvement, and the gradual increase 
of the navy, which s}^tem has been pursued, since that time, with such 
emendations as enlarged experience and progressive science have sug- 
gested. The plan for this gradual increase, in connection with a special 
act of the session of 1819-20, contemplated the formation of a force of 
twelve line-of-battle ships, fourteen first-class frigates, three second-class 
frigates, six sloops, and a proper proportion of smaller vessels. The 
details of this plan have been carried out, in a good degree, respecting 
the larger vessels, while subsequent enactments have added largely to 
the number of the sloops, and somewhat to that of the brigs and 
schooners. 

In a time of prolonged peace, the services of the national vessels must 
be mainly directed toward the protection of commerce in the various seas 
■which invite it. With but few exceptions, this has been the occupation 
of our navy since the close of the war with Great Britain, and the settle- 
ment of our difficulties with the Barbary powers. For some years after 
the period mentioned, it was necessary to maintain a careful watch over 
the interests of commerce in the Mediterranean, since nothing but the 
knowledge of the presence of a strong force could restrain the predatory 
disposition of the inhabitants of the northern coast of Africa; and during 
the war between the Turks and the Greeks, this disposition did break 
forth into overt acts against the vessels of some nations. Several ships 
have generally cruised along our own coast, and in emergencies a squadron 
of some size has been retained on this duty. For a few years a consid- 
erable force was engaged in the West Indies, in an exterminating war 
upon bands of pirates, who abounded there; some account of which will 
be hereafter given. From about 1820, some vessels have been stationed 



18 NAVAL HISTORY. [1816-20. 



along the western coast of Africa, to cooperate with the cruisers of 
England in the attempt to suppress the slave-trade. The Pacific has 
also been a regular cruising ground for a portion of the national marine, 
where, especially during the revolutions of the South American States, 
it has rendered essential service in the way of protecting our commercial 
rights. In 1816, it was determined to send a ship of war to the Pacific, 
to take formal possession of the country about the Columbia river, to 
collect inforniation that might be useful to commercial operations, and to 
give protection to those which had already been undertaken there by our 
citizens. The frigate Congress, Captain Morris, was directed to be pro- 
pared for this service, in August, 1816. When nearly ready for sea, her 
destination was changed to the Gulf of Mexico, to protect our commerce 
against any improper interference by the cruisers of the revolutionary 
governments bordering on the gulf, and on the Caribbean sea. 

The Ontario sloop of war. Captain Biddle, having landed agents of the 
government at Rio de Janeiro, proceeded to the Pacific. After touching 
at the ports of Valparaiso and Lima, where Captain Biddle rendered 
essential services to American vessels and citizens, and exemplified in a 
striking manner the importance of a naval force in foreign ports, he pro- 
ceeded to Columbia river, and, in August, 1818, took formal possession 
of the country in the name and in behalf of the United States. 

The coast of Brazil, also, has for many years been deemed a regular 
station. In 1819, Commodore Perry was ordered to the command of 
the squadron on this station, being also intrusted with the discharge of 
certain delicate diplomatic duties. The Constellation was intended for 
his flag-ship, but not being ready for sea, and the object of his ap- 
pointment requiring dispatch, he sailed in the sloop of war John Adams. 
Arrived off the mouth of the Orinoco, he transferred his pennant to the 
schooner Nonsuch, and ascended the river to Angostura, where he was 
detained several^^ days in executing the duties of his mission. This was 
in midsummer, and during the most sickly part of the season. He 
contracted the yellow fever, and died as the schooner was approaching 
his own ship, on the 23d of August; he being just thirty-four years of 
age. He was appointed a midshipman in April, 1799. His remains 
were interred at Port Spain, but were afterward brought home in a ship 
of war, and deposited in the soil of his native state, Rhode Island. 
Upon the receipt of the news of the death of Com. Perry, Com. Morris 
was directed to proceed with the Constellation and John Adams to the 
Rio de la Plata, and perform the duties connected with the government 
of Buenos Ayres, which had been originally assigned to the former 
officer; having done which, he returned to the United States in May, 1820. 

But a few months after the death of Perry, the navy experienced 
another severe loss, the attending circumstances of which were so melan- 
choly, as to affect the entire nation with painful emotions. The event, 
which thus awakened general regret and grief, was the death of Com. 
Stephen Decatur, occasioned by a wound received in a duel with Com. 
James Barron. It will be remembered that Com. Barron had been 
suspended from the service for five years, in consequence of his conduct 
in connection with the attack of the Leopard on the Chesapeake in 1807. 
During his suspension he engaged in mercantile business, and remained 



1820.J NAVAL HISTORY. 19 

away from his country throughout the war with Great Britain. On his 
return, and some time after the close of the war, he sought a command 
according to his rank in the navy. Com. Decatur opposed his apphcation, 
and expressed his opinion very freely respecting Barron's absence during 
tlie war, and his subsequent conduct. Reports, as usual in such a case, 
incorrectly representing Decatur's language and feelings, were conveyed 
to Banron's ears, and led to a con-espondence between them, which was 
opened by Barron in June, 1819, and continued at intervals for several 
months, and up to the time of their hostile meeting. The course of this 
correspondence evinced increased exasperation of feelings on both sides; 
Decatur still reiterating his opinion, that Barron had rendered himself 
unwoi'thy of his station in the navy, and of the privilege of honoi'able 
service; and Barron, while defending himself against Decatur's severe 
charges, refusing to explain to his antagonist the real cause of his remain- 
ing abroad, svhile his country was engaged in a war to so great an extent 
maritime in its character. It afterward appeared that pecuniary embar- 
rassment was the real reason of Barron's singular conduct. Had this 
been known, the generous Decatur would have been the last person to 
taunt a fellow-officer, who had already endured so much as Barron had. 
The correspondence, bowevei', led to a challenge from Barron to Decatur; 
both yielding to the bloody and barbarous maxims of a most fallacious 
code of honor, which they admitted was repulsive to their moral senti- 
ments and better feelings. Com. Elliot was selected by Barron as his 
second, and Com. Bainbridge appeared on behalf of Decatur. The 
arrangements having been very quietly made, the parties met early on 
the morning of the 22d of March, 1820, between Washington and 
Bladensburg, near the latter place. When they had taken their positions, 
and were ready to fire, Barron said to Decatur, " I hope, on meeting in 
another world, we will be better friends;" and Decatur replied, "I have 
never been your enemy, sir." Com. Bainbridge gave the word to fire, 
and both pistols went ofi' at the same instant. The two antagonists fell, 
Barron being severely wounded in the hip, and Decatur having I'eceived 
a mortal wound in the abdomen. As they lay upon the ground, Decatur 
exclaimed, "I am mortally wounded, at least 1 believe so, and wish I had 
fallen in defence of my country." Barron, also considering his wound 
mortal, remarked that he " forgave his enemy from the bottom of his 
heart." Decatur was then removed to his residence in Washington, and 
lingered in great agony until half-past ten o'clock in the evening, when 
he expired. He was but forty-one years of age, and had spent twenty- 
two years of his life in the naval service, his warrant as a midshipman 
bearing the date of April 30th, 1798. Without detracting from the 
high merit of other officers, there were certain very favorable circum- 
stances in the history of Perry and Decatur, which rendered them 
peculiar favorites with the entire nation ; and their death, occurring in 
the very prime of their days, and with attending incidents of a very 
aggravating character, was felt with universal and keen regret and sorrow.. 



20 NAVAL HISTORY. [1820. 



CHAPTER II. 

Mexican and South American Revolutions — Paper blockades — Piracies in the West Indies — 
Vessels ordered there — Captures by Lieutenants Kearney and BamaRe — Com. Biddle sent 

1 with an increased force— Captures by Lieut. Gregory — Death of Lieut. Allen — Alligator 
wrecked — Captures by Capt. Cassin— Difficulty of suppressing piracies — Com. Porter takes the 
command — Affair at St. John's — Arrangement of Com. Porter's force — Various captures by 
Captain Cassin, Lieuts. Stribling, Newell, Watson, Kearney, Sldnner and Paine — Affair at 
Foxardo and Porter's recall — Com. Warrington supersedes him — Loss of the Ferret — Cap- 
tures by Lieuts. Sloat and McKeever — Suppression of the system of piracy. 

The example of the North American colonies, in their successful 
struggle for independence of English rule, in time extended its influence 
to the colonies of Spain. A relaxation in the vigor of her tyranny, com- 
pelled by the dread of this example, did not hinder the spread of free 
ideas thi'oughout these distant dependencies. When the contest came, 
it was marked by an energy and a determination on the part of the col- 
onies, which finally resulted in wresting from the crown of Spain her 
most extensive and valuable possessions on this continent. This series of 
revolutions necessarily produced a serious interference with the regular 
course of commerce; and this consequence the United States quickly and 
deeply felt. The hindrance to commercial intercourse arose from two 
difterent sources — the establishment of blockades and the ravages of 
pirates. The right of belligerents to blockade each other's ports, our 
govei'nment never disputed. But in vindication of the rights of neutrals, 
it maintained that the blockade should be actual and effectual ; that an 
adequate naval force should be present to enforce it, and to render it 
hazardous in a merchant ship to disregard it. It will be remembered 
that our government had been so strenuous regarding this principle, as 
to maintain it by force against both France and Great Britain. Spain, 
unable to enforce a strict blockade, now sought to establish one along an 
extended line of sea-board, by mere proclamation. This paper blockade 
of course damaged our shipping interests, inasmuch as vessels relying 
upon the American doctrine on the subject, disregarded a .proclamation 
which was not supported by an actual adequate force. The Spanish 
cruisers and privateeis, though unable to prevent this practice by effectu- 
allj" guarding the proscribed ports, were able occasionally to capture an 
American ship, which had broken this paper blockade, and were even in 
the habit of making captures on the suspicion of such an intention. 
It became necessary, therefore, for the government to order to the West 
Indies a squadron capable of preventing such proceedings against our 
commerce, and of showing its continued determination to resist the ap- 
plication of this loose piinciple of blockade. The di.splay of our naval 
force, sustaining the rea.soning of our diplomatic protests, was fully suc- 
cessful in accomplishing the object in view. Onr doctrine was admitted 
by the Spanish authorities, and American merchantmen pursued their 
course, without regarding imaginary blockades. 

But the matter of piracy involved evils not so easily managed, and 
remedied. The unsettled state of aflairs, internal revolutions, feeblo 



1821.] NAVAL HISTORY. 21 

governments, a low state of morality in surrounding communities, and 
the debasing influence of war — all these characteristics of the times and 
regions conspired to foster a system of piratical enterprises in the West 
Indies. It is unnecessary to describe the details of this dark and de- 
structive system. Vessels were plundered, then sent adrift, burnt, or taken 
possession of, as fancy or interest dictated ; the officers, crews and passen- 
gers were always treated with indignity and violence, very fi-equently 
murdered in cold blood, and in some instances, their bodies after death 
were abused with disgusting bai'barity, after ciiielty had exhausted 
ingenuity in contrivances of insupportable torture. Indeed, the worst 
imaginable scenes connected with the idea of piracy, were realities in the 
career of these lawless bands. It must not be understood that every 
instance was thus marked with every possible horror; but that the enor- 
mities mentioned formed a fearful proportion to the ordinary outrages of 
these miscreants. Some of the freebooters seemed intent only on plun- 
der, and took the steps necessary to their object with quite commendable 
decorum. The majority delighted in the opportunity to gratify more 
bloody and cruel dispositions, and when rapacity had been satisfied, or 
hindered in its desires, they gave way to the demands of fiercer passions. 
Repeated reports of such outrages, committed on our very borders, at a 
time of peace, when seamen expected no more than the usual perils of 
the ocean, soon awakened not only the fears but the indignation of the 
nation. Merchant ships were armed to some extent, and in some in- 
stances successfully repelled the attacks of pirates. But this was 
insufficient. Government was called upon to aft'ord protection, and 
promptly responded to the call. Yet in estimating the credit due to 
the government and the nav}^, on account of their exertions in this 
service, we must remember that it required time and experience to dis- 
cover the best mode of operating against the pirates, and that our entire 
naval force could not be safely or wisely directed against this single evil. 
This must account for the time which it actually took finally and fully to 
suppress these lawless aggressions. 

In the fiill of 1821, the first accounts of piracies were received in the 
United States. The administration immediately took measures to capture 
and bring to punishment the offenders. The sloop of war Hoinet, brigs 
Enterprise and Spark, and schoonei-s Shark, Porpoise and Grampus, with 
three gun-boats, were ordered to sail directly on this service. 

Onllie 16th of October, 1821, Lieutenant Kearney, commanding the^ 
Enterprise, while cruising off Cape Antonio, Cuba, discovered four 
piratical vessels in the act of plundering three American vessels which 
they had just captured. They were quite in shore in shoal water, where 
the brig could not venture. ' Five boats were, therefore, sent in pursuit. 
The pirates being hard pressed, set fire to and burnt two schooners. The 
detachment, however, succeeded in capturing two schooners, and one 
sloop, together with some forty pirates. The brig then carried her pris- 
oners into Charleston, to be tried under an act of Congress, passed in 
1819, for the punishment of the crime of piracy. 

On the 29th of October, the Hornet, Captain'Robert Henly, captured 
a schooner named the Moscow, which he sent into Norfolk. On the 21st 
of December, Lieut. Kearney captured a schooner of about thuty-six 



22 KAVAL HISTORY. [1822. 

tons, but the crew, consisting of twenty-five laen, escaped. He also 
destroyed the rendezvous of the pirates at Cape Antonio, 

On the 7th of January, 1822, Lieutenant Ramage, commanding the 
schooner Porpoise, attacked and captured six piratical vessels on the north 
coast of Cuba. He burnt five of them, and manned the remaining one 
for the purpose of cruising against the pirates, three of whom were taken 
prisoners. He also landed forty men, under Lieut. Curtis, who drove 
the piiates to the woods and broke up their depot. This was accom- 
plished without loss on the part of the assailants, while the loss of the 
enemy must have been severe, though it could not be ascertained. 

On the 6th of March, Lieut. Kearney, of the Enterprise, made another 
large capture oft" Cape Antonio. It consisted of three launches and four 
barges, with their crews, numbering about one hundred and sixty men. 
These were the principal captures eftected by the first squadron sent out. 

These successes of the cruisers gave but a slight check to the operations 
of the freebooters. They still committed their depredations to an alarm- 
ing extent. More efiicient measures were consequently adopted. Com. 
James Biddle was ordered to take command of the West India squadron, 
having as his flag-ship the frigate Macedonian. An addition of two 
hundred marines was also made to the force. The Macedonian proceeded 
to her station in the month of April, 1822. The squadron in these seas, 
during this year, consisted of the Macedonian 36 ; the frigate Congress 
36; sloops of war John Adams 24, and Peacock 18; brig Spark 12; 
schooners Alligator, Grampus, Shark and Porpoise, each cairying twelve 
guns. The Enterprise was at home, refitting. The principal portion of 
these vessels was engaged directly in the suppression of piracy, while the 
remainder was occupied in the general protection of commerce, and in 
furnishing convoy to merchantmen. On the 16th of August, 1822, 
Lieut. Gregory, commanding the Grampus, gave chase to a brigantine. 
On being overtaken, the brig showed Spanish colors. But Lieut. Greg- 
ory, suspecting her to be a pirate, called upon her commander to surreu-' 
der. This demand was replied to by a fire from cannon and small-arms. 
The Grampus now opened her fire in broadside, and in three minutes 
and a half the brig struck. When boarded she was found to be a complete 
wreck, with one man killed and six wounded. The Grampus sustained 
no injaiy. The prize proved to be the privateer Palmira, of Porto Rico, 
carrying one long brass eighteen, and eight ISlb. carronades, with a 
crew of eighty-eight men. The officers acknowledged that they had 
robbed the American schooner Coquette, complaint of which had been 
made to Lieut. Gregory. Though carrying the papers of a privateer, she 
was thus really doing the work of a pirate. And her capture was a 
warning to other privateers, which class of vessels had, before this time, 
in various ways, annoyed and interfered with American merchantmen. 

During the month of November, in this year, the Alligator, commanded 
by Lieut. William H. Allen, wasjying in the harbor of Matanzas, when 
information was brought on board, of late acts of piracy in the vicinity. 
Lieut. Allen, with great alacrity, immediately stood out of the bay, and 
sailed' in pursuit. When about fifteen leagues fi'om Matanzas, he came 
in sight of a piratical force, consisting of three well-armed vessels, carrying 
Bome three hundred men. They had five prize vessels in their possession. 



1822.] NAVAL HISTORY. 23 

The Alligator being unable to come up witb them, an attack was made 
upon one of the vessels in boats; Lieut. Allen taking the lead. One of 
the pirates opened a heavy fire upon the boats, which continued for some 
time, as he was under wa}', and the boats had to pull hard to overtake 
biin. Thus exposed they still pressed on ; Allen's boat being considerably 
in advance of the others, and the gallant commander standing up, and 
encoui'agiuo- his men in their exertions. While in this position he 
received a musket shot in the head, and, soon after, another in the breast, 
which, in a few hours, proved mortal. The pirates, however, did not 
wait to be boarded, but deserted their vessel, when they found themselves 
unable to drive oif the boats. They escaped with their two other schooners, 
but the prizes were recaptured. In this action the loss of the Alligator 
was, besides Lieut. Allen, two men killed, and five wounded; two mor- 
tally. It was supposed that some fourteen of the pirates were killed. 
The schooner taken was armed with one long twelve, two long sixes, two 
long threes, and two swivels. The others were also fully armed and 
equipped. 

Lieut. Allen had attained a high reputation in the navy, for so young 
an oflicer, as he was but thirty at the time of his death. He was the 
second lieutenant of the brig Argus, Captain Allen, when she was taken 
by the Pelican, on the coast of England, in 1813, and commanded 
throughout the latter part of the action, when both his superior oflicers 
had been carried below severely wounded. On this occasion he fought 
and raauffiuvered the brig in the most gallant and skillful manner. 

Shortly after this exploit, on the night of the 19th of November, the 
Alligator was wrecked on Carysford Reef. Her officers and crew were all 
saved. 

On the 28th and 30th of September, of this year, five piratical vessels 
were captured by Captain S. Cassin, commanding the Peacock. 

The vessels of the squadron acted with all possible efficiency on this 
difiicult service; still, notwithstanding the captures made, these ravages 
upon our commerce, and outrages upon our citizens, were rather on the 
increase. The difficulties of thoroughly checking them could hardly be 
appreciated; and the impatience and dissatisfaction manifested through 
the public journals of the period, evince that they were not appreciated, 
even by the best informed. But few of the pirates kept the open sea, 
so as to fall in the way of the larger cruisers. This class of ships could, 
therefore, effect but little toward their extermination by regular sea-fights. 
The main portion of the pirates were established on the coast, in the 
more uninhabited parts of the various islands, and issued out from their 
retreats on short excursions, in small schooners, barges and boats. When 
found on shore, unless actually taken in the act of plunder and chased 
in, it was oftentimes difficult to find evidence to identify them as pirates, 
for to appearance they were but fishermen or landsmen. Others, still, were 
fitted out directly from some of the principal Spanish ports, and obtained 
their information, from friends on shore, as to the sailing of vessels, their 
cargoes, and other items of impoitance ; and instances were not v.'anting, 
in which the connivance of the authorities was apparent to the least 
sagacious. The labor imposed upon the officers and seamen of our navy, 
waa consequently to be performed very much in open boats, under a 



24 NAVAL HISTORY. 



[1823. 



tropical sun, and amid the intricacies and dangers of unknown coasts; 
and, when they were fortunate enough to di'ive any band of these barba- 
rians on shore, they were not permitted by the Spanish authorities to 
pursue them on land ; and, in case of a short pursuit, tlie pirates had the 
advantage of a local knowledge, through which they could find numerous 
ways of escape. It was apparent, then, that the force on this service, to 
be made efficient, must be both peculiar and numerous. With this idea, 
the government, in the commencement of the year 1823, fitted out an 
expedition which was more adequate in its construction and size to the 
emergency, than any preceding it. Commodore David Porter resigned 
his office as commissioner of the navy, in order to take command of this 
expedition. His personal attention was devoted to the selection of vessels, 
and their preparation for the service. The squadron, when fully organized, 
comprised the Steam Galliot Sea Gull; eight small schooners, viz.: the 
Greyhound, Jackall, Fox, Wildcat, Beagle, Ferret, Weasel and Terrier; 
the transport-ship Decoy; and five barges, viz.: the Mosquito, Gnat, 
Midge, Sandfly and Gallinipper. Besides these, the vessels already on 
the West India Station were llie John Adams, Peacock, Hornet, Spark, 
Grampus and Shark. 

Commodore Porter took his squadron to sea on the 14th of February, 
1823, As great publicity had been given through the press to the 
preparation and constitution of this expedition, and the proximity of the 
United States to the scene of operations could not but favor the trans- 
mission of this published information, Com. Porter wisely judged that 
the pirates would undoubtedly change their ground as far as possible, 
and therefore an immediate cruise near their old haunts would be fruit- 
less. He consequently sailed to the windward, intending first to touch 
at the island of St, Thomas, His broad pennant was hoisted on board 
the Peacock. Arrived off Porto Rico, he addressed a communication to 
the governor on the subject of the interruptions to our commerce on the 
coasts of Mexico and Colombia by Porto Rico privateers, and also on tlie 
subject of the blockade of these coasts. His presence and communica- 
tions here resulted in the raising of the blockade of the main, which had 
nominally existed up to this time, and in effectually checking the system 
of licensed piracy, under the name of privateering, which had long been 
carried on from the ports of this island. 

While otF this island, a very unfortunate occurrence took place, in re- 
gard to which the conduct of the authorities was wholly indefensible. On 
the 3d of March, Commodore Poi-ter dispatched the Greyhound, Capt. 
John Porter, into the port of St. John's, with the above-mentioned com- 
munication to the governor. On the 5th, he ordered Lieut. W, H. Cocke, 
in command of the Fox, to enter the same harbor, in order to ascertain 
the probabilities respecting an answer. As the latter was endeavoring to 
execute this order, he was killed by a shot from the castle, which suddenly 
opened a heavy fire upon the schooner, and obliged her to come to 
anchor under its guns. The only satisfaction offered for this insult and 
catastrophe was the plea, that the character of the squadron was sus- 
pected or not certainly understood, and therefore the commandant of the 
port had issued orders that no more of the vessels should be permitted 
to enter, until the arrival of the governor. Com. Porter ably refuted this 



1823.] NAVAL HISTORY. 25 

plea, in a letter to the governor, and immediately left the island, referring 
the whole matter to his government. There is reason to think that this 
hostile act was designed as a measure of retaliation for the capture of the 
Palmira, previously noticed. 

Com. Porter now divided his force into small detachments, and in this 
way thoroughly scoured the coasts of all the islands to the north of Porto 
Rico, including St. Domingo and Cuba. Around the entire coast of this 
last island, piracies had been carried on to a vast extent. Every bay 
and inlet and key of all this region was thus carefully searched. With- 
out doubt, the information conveyed to the pirates of the fitting out and 
departure of the expedition had thoroughly alarmed them, for the actual 
captures were by no means what might have been expected, had their 
hostile acts continued to the extent to which they had shortly before 
been prosecuted. 

Com. Porter then proceeded to Thompson's island, now Key AVest, 
■where he established a naval depot, and reassembled his squadron. This 
point he made the centre of his operations, and the rendezvous of his 
vessels after their short cruises. These vessels were kept constantly occu- 
pied, either furnishing convoy to the merchantmen passing in and out 
of the gulf, or chasing the pirates who occasionally dared to venture out. 
Piracy as a system was eftcctually broken up. Under date of April 24th, 
Com. Porter remarks : " I believe I can now say with safety, that there 
is not a pirate afloat on this pait of the coast of Cuba, (the northern) 
larger than an open boat." On May 19th, he writes to the secretary of 
the navy to this effect : " I have the honor to inform you, that not a 
single piratical act has been committed on the coast of Cuba since I 
organized and arranged my forces." 

It must be remembered that at this time there was also a considerable 
British force cruising on the same service, and that the Spanish authorities 
were also aflibrding more eflicient cooperation than formerly. There 
seemed, therefore, a cheering prospect that an end would soon be put to 
these crimes upon the higli seas. 

Still, the force under Com. Porter was so small for the service, that the 
labor imposed upon the ofiicers and men was exceedingly onerous; per- 
foi-med, as most of it was, in small vessels and open boats, by day and by 
night, thus exposing them to the baneful influences of the climate, and 
the dangerous consequences of over-exertion. The willing endurance and 
unceasing vigilance manifested by all, were deserving of very high 
commendation. 

The retreat of the pirates from the sea was soon followed by their 
appearance in a similar dangerous character on land. In the neighbor- 
hood of Matanzas they were especially bold and alarming, roaming over 
the country in large bands, fully armed, and plundering and murdering 
the unprotected inhabitants. 

With this general view of the operations and benefits of the squadron, 
it may be interesting to connect a more detailed account of some of the 
most important captures. 

Information being received of a suspicious looking vessel on the coast 
of Cuba, Capt. Cassin was ordeied in seaich, taking with him the 
schooners Fox and Jackall, and the barges Galliuipper and Mosquito. He 



26 NAVAL HISTORY. [1823. 

went off Havana, and there offered convoy to a large fleet of merchant- 
men, while Lieut. Stribling, in the Gallinipper, was dispatched after the 
pirate. On the morning of the 8th of April, this officer discovered a 
schooner about three miles off, working in toward shore. She appeared 
full of men, and evidently piratical. Muskets were fired to bring her to. 
She returned a smart fire of round shot, grape and musketry, and still 
worked hard to escape. She was soon run on shore, and the crew, with 
the exception of one man, escaped. Two were found killed, and others 
must have been severely wounded, as the captain afterward appeared at 
Matanzas, and acknowledged that all his crew, but three, were killed. 
Pursuit by land could not be made, so the party were contented with 
getting the vessel ott', and carrying her in as a prize. She proved to be 
the schooner Pilot, of Norfolk, a very fast sailer, and a craft that the 
pirates had long wished to possess. They had captured her but eight 
days before. She was armed with a long twelve-pounder, and an abund- 
ance of blunderbusses and other small-arms. It is surprising that none 
in the assailing party were injured by her fire. Her commander was a 
notoi'ious buccaneer, named Domingo, M'ho, notwithstanding his course 
of life, was possessed of some sentiments of honor; for there were letters 
for Com. Porter and his officers on board the Pilot when Domingo took 
her, and he politely forwarded them, with the message, that he did not 
wish to deprive them of the opportimity of hearing from their friends; 
that he had no ill will against them ; that they were only engaged in 
doing their duty. 

Daring the same cruise Capt. Cassin entered a harbor noted for pirates, 
where he discovered a felucca standing out. She was chased; when her 
crew ran her ashore, and took to the land. Pursuit was made for a short 
distance, but the enemy knew the gi'ound and escaped. The felucca 
was a new, well coppered boat, pulling sixteen sweeps, and evidently just 
starting on her first cruise. Capt. Cassin also broke up several different 
establishments where the pirates were harbored ; and the latter burnt 
three of their own schooners on his approach. 

Lieut. Newell, commanding the Ferret, discovered a large armed barge 
in a bay not far from Matanzas. He sent an officer with five men, all 
that his boat would hold, to reconnoitre. Seven boats were seen on the 
shore. The pirates fired upon the boat with muskets, and a shot taking 
effect near the water edge, the officer was obliged to retreat. The 
schooner then stood in shore as close as possible, and commenced firing, 
endeavoring to destroy the boats, for the pirates were out of harm's way 
behind the rocks. As she could fire only when in the act of staying, and 
it was blowing hard, she hauled oft" and went to Matanzas for a suitable 
boat. The next day Lieut. Newell fell in with an English brig, from 
■which he obtained a boat; but on returning to the bay, the pirates were 
found to have decamped. On landing, two boats were found ; the rest 
had been removed up a lagoon extending some miles into the country. 
Being unprovided with proper boats, Lieut. Newell could not follow. 

In July, one of the most desperate contests and brilliant victories of 
the expedition, took place on the coast of Cuba. In June, several 
piracies were reported, as having occurred on the south side of the island. 
Lieut. Watson, commanding the Gallinipper, was ordered to sail round 



1823.] NAVAL HISTORY. 27 

the entire island, giving its shores a close examination. He was accom- 
panied by the Mosquito, coniiuanded by Lieut. Innian. These barges 
carried, in all, twenty-six men and five officers. While cruising in Si- 
quapa bay, near the veiy spot where the gallant Allen was killed, a large 
top-sail schooner, with a launch in company, was seen working up to an 
anchorage, where several merchantmen were lying. The appearance of 
these vessels v/as so suspicious, that Lieut. Watson bore up in order to 
discover their character. The schooner was seen to be well armed, and 
her deck filled with men. Lieut. Watson, therefore, showed his colors. 
On this the chase ran up the Spanish flag, brailed up her foresail, and 
commenced firing into the Gallinipper. Lieut. Watson kept away, and 
ran down upon her weather quarter, in order to board ; the Mosquito 
attempting to close at the same time. But the pirates, wishing to avoid 
a close action, and having vessels of good sailing qualities, set all sail, and 
went off" before the wind, compelling the barges to enter upon a long 
chase. At length, having run quite in shore, they anchored with springs 
to their cables, and seemed determined to make an obstinate resistance. 
As the barges now stood down for them, the pirates fired one of their 
heavy guns; but, though within close range, no injury was done. They 
then opened with small-arms, which the barges returned. After a few 
volleys the order was given to board, and was obeyed with a loud cheer, 
and the watchword " Huzza for Allen." The pirates did not wait for 
this hand-to-hand fight, but jumped overboard, and sought to escape by 
swimming to the shore. The Mosquito now sailed by the schooner, and 
passed through those that were swimming in the water, shooting many 
of them as she went by. The Gallinipper also pushed on to cut off 
their retreat. Some reached the launch, which still kept up her fire. 
But a volley of musketry soon drove her crew out of her. The men 
from the barges landed, and, in connection with the local authorities, 
killed, wounded, or took prisoners, all who reached the shore. Many 
were killed in the water. So that the almost total destruction of the 
crews, of both the schooner and the launch, was effected ; amounting, on 
the best information that could be gained, to some seventy or eighty men. 

What is certainly remarkable, not a person on our part was even 
wounded. When we consider the great disparity in the number of men, 
the superiority in the vessel, and all the advantages which existed on 
the part of the pirates, this must be set down as a very brilliant naval 
exploit. 

The schooner was called the Catalina, mounting one long nine-pounder 
and three sixes. She was commanded by a celebrated pirate named 
Diabolito, or Little Devil, who was killed in the action. Her career had 
been short, having been captured from the Spaniards just before, and this 
being her first piratical cruise. The launch, also captured, was about 
equal to one of the barges. The pirates taken prisonei-s by the local 
authorities, were sent to Matanzas; and five surviving ones, in the hands 
of Lieut. Watson, wei'e taken to Havana and delivered up, to be 
punished under Spanish law. 

In the same month, Lieut. Kearney, commanding the Greyhound, and 
Lieut. Newton, commanding the Beagle, landed with a force at Cape 
Cruz, and after a pretty sharp encounter, broke up an establishment of 



28 NAYAL HISTORY. [1824. 

the pirates, burning several houses, and capturing some ordnance, which 
was mounted on shore. 

In the month of August, a malignant fever broke out, and spread 
greatly among the vessels at Thompson's Island, Its prevalence became 
alarming. Many died, and Commodore Porter and many of his officer3 
were prostrated by it. It was a very natural result of their exposures 
and poor accommodations. When information of it reached Washington, 
Com. Rodgers was directed to proceed without delay to the island, taking 
with him a board of competent surgeons, in order that it might be de- 
termined, whether from any cause the island itself was unhealthy. In 
case of a fatal issue of Commodore Porter's attack. Com. Rodgers was 
to assume the command. In the mean time, however, Com. Porter had 
determined, for the safety of his men, to come to the northward, and 
brought most of his squadron home shortly after Commodore Rodgei-s 
had sailed for the island. After remaining a sufficient time to obtain the 
desired benefit of a change of air, he returned with his vessels to his 
station. 

During the following year, 1824, piracies were carried on to some ex- 
tent — committed mainly in small boats, which were concealed in shore, 
and made short and rapid excursions, as opportunities occurred. In the 
early part of the day, merchant ships were very liable to be becalmed, 
when near the coast of Cuba. Pirates in these boats could at such times 
• issue out, and easily attack them, there being no chance of escape by the 
use of their sails. The absence of the squadron, during the latter part of 
the previous year, had tended somewhat to revive the spirit of these I'uf- 
fian adventurers. It became quite apparent also that these desperadoes 
were organized into a secret association, which, in the case of Cuba, ex- 
tended entirely round the island, and with which Spanish merchants of 
respectable standing had connections of so intimate a character, as to make 
them accessories to all these inhuman crimes. Nor were some agents of the 
custom service, and other officials of the governments of the islands, too 
upright and pure to make theii- share of profit out of this system of plunder. 
And it certainly wore an air of suspicion, that the Spanish authorities, when 
too feeble themselves to destroy the pirates on land, would not accord, to 
the American forces, the privilege of pursuit into their territories. A 
continued grievance also existed in the fact, that the actual outrages of 
piracy were constantly committed by vessels, bearing commissions as pri- 
vateers from the Spanish authorities of Poi'to Rico. The little American 
squadron, therefore, had all these difficulties to contend against, superadded 
to the phj'sical hardships of the service. The actual force of this squadron 
should also be borne in mind, for that portion specially directed to this 
one object did not much exceed in guns and men, the force of a first class 
frigate. 

Some few captures were made during this year. Lieut. Commandant 
Skinner, of the Porpoise, captured a schooner, the crew of which escaped 
to the shore. Lieut. Comd't Paine, of the Terrier, recaptured a French 
ship from the pirates, and chased the latter, but they jumped from their 
boat and swam to the shore. 

In the latter part of October, Lieut. Piatt, commanding the Beagle, 
was informed of the robbery of an American mercantile house in St. 



1824.J KAA^AL HISTORY 29 



Thomas. There was satisfactory evidence that the goods had been 
carried by the pirates into a small port on the east end of Porto Rico, 
called Foxardo. There had long been a good understanding with the 
pirates on the part of the inhabitants, if not of the local government 
of this town. Lieut. Piatt readily agreed to afford his aid in recovei'ing 
the propert}'. He set sail immediately, and anchored in the harbor of 
Foxardo. He then waited upon the proper civil officers, who treated him 
roughly, demanded his commission, which, when sent for, they pronounced 
a forgery; charged him with being a pirate, and finally arrested him, and 
Lieut. Ritchie, who was with him, and detained them under guard during 
the day. After various insults on the part of the officials and the inhab- 
itants, they were permitted to return to their vessel. As the Beagle was 
running off the coast, she met the John Adams standing in. Lieut. Piatt 
went on board, and reported the treatment he had received, to Com. 
Porter. The decision of the latter was soon formed : he deemed this an 
insult to the flag of his country, which must be atoned for. The John 
Adams, drawing too much water to enter the bay, was ordered to a safe 
;iuchorage. The Commodore then took the Beagle and Grampus, with 
the boats of the John Adams, containing a part of her crew and officers 
under Captain Dallas, her commander, and proceeded toward Foxardo. 
He addressed a letter, dated November 12th, to the alcalde of the place, 
reciting the facts of the injury, demanding explanation and atonement, 
and threatening in case of refusal to make the town responsible. He 
gave one hour for a decision. ' This letter, on landing, was sent by a 
lieutenant with a flag of truce. Previous to this, as the vessels were 
coming to anchor, it was perceived that preparations were making in a 
shore battery to fire upon them. A boat was iminediately sent with a 
detachment of seamen and marines, who took the battery and spiked the 
guns, the Spaniards fleeing without an attempt at defence. Commodore 
Porter now landed with two hundred men, who were formed in marching 
order, and moved toward the town. A battery of two guns, which 
raked the road in a very commanding position, was also deserted, and the 
guns were spiked by our men. In half an hour the town was reached, 
and was found prepared to make a defence. The party halted to await 
the return of the white flag. The authorities concluded to endure the 
humiliation of an explanation, rather than the evils of a contest. The 
alcalde and the captain of the port appeared, and in the most humble 
manner apologized to Lieut. Piatt personally. They expressed great 
penitence for the wrong they had done, and promised thereafter to 
respect most carefully the rights of American officers. This apology 
was accepted, and after marching through the town the party returned 
to their vessels. 

Com. Porter's dispatch, giving an account of this affair, produced an 
immediate order, dated 2'7th December, for his return home. The gov- 
ernment deemed that he had overstepped the limits of his powers, and so 
also did the court-martial which was appointed for his trial. He offered 
a defence based on three grounds — the law of nations, American prece- 
dents, and the orders of the department. He was, however, sentenced to 
be suspended from the service for six months ; and the President approved 
the sentence. This result so deeply affected the feelings of Com. Porter, 



30 NAVAL HISTORY. [1823. 

tbat he resigned, and entered into the Mexican service, where he received 
the appointment of commander-in-chief of the naval forces, with a salary 
of twenty-five thousand dollars a year.* 

Captain Lewis Warrington was appointed to succeed Com. Porter in 
his command. The vessels employed in the West Indies during the year 
1825, were the Constellation, John Adams, Hornet, Spark, Grampus, 
Shark, Fox, the Steam Galliot Sea Gull, the store-ship Decoy and the 
barges. 

The schooner Ferret was upset in a squall, on the 4th of February, 
1825, off the coast of Cuba, and five of her crew were lost. The vessel 
sunk soon after the survivors were rescued by the Sea Gull and the 
Jackall. 

The same system of marine police, which had been established by 
Com. Porter, was still maintained by his successor, the vessels being con- 
stantly occupied in watching the coasts, and affording convoy to merchant- 
men. As it became now a settled purpose with our government to 
maintain an efficient force in these seas so long as the danger existed, the 
depredations and cruelties of the pirates gradually diminished, as they 
doubtless found that their business was growing more hazardous and less 
profitable. Consequently, but few captures were reported during this 
year. 

In the month of March, a piratical sloop appearing in the neighborhood 
of the island of St. Thomas, Lieut. Sloat, commanding the Grampus, 
cruising in that quarter, fitted out a trading nloop with two lieutenants 
and twenty-three men, and dispatched her in pursuit. The pirate, unsus- 
picious of the character of the sloop, came alongside, and at half musket 
shot commenced firing. Having thus drawn the other into the snare, 
the sloop now opened a warm and unexpected fire. The action continued 
about forty-five minutes, when the pirates as u^ua! ran their vessel on shore, 
and took' to the land. Two of them were killed, and ten were taken 
prisoners, after landing, by Spanish soldiers. It was a subject of special 
satisfaction that among the prisoners was a celebrated chief Colfi-ecinas, 
who had for years been the terror of the vicinity. They were all exe- 
cuted by the government of Porto Rico. 

In the month of March, Lieut. McKeever, commanding the Sea Gull, 
accompanied by the barge Galliuipper, started on a cruise. Falling in 
with the English frigate Dartmouth, and two English armed schooners, 
he entered into an arrangement for cooperation with the boats of the 
frigate, on condition that he should command the party. On the after- 
noon of ,the 25th, in approaching a key, which they suspected of being 
a rendezvous of pirates, they discovered the masts of a vessel concealed 
in the bushes. AVhen hailed she hoisted Spanish colors, and ordered the 
boats to keep oft", at the same time training her guns upon them, and 
making some ineftectual attempts to fire. Part of the force was now 

• He remained in tlie service of Mexico until 1829, when he returned to his native country, 
and was apjiointed by President Jackson. consul-peneraJ to Algiers. This post he occujiicd till 
the French conquest of Algiers, when he was transferred to Constantinople in the capacity of 
Charge d'atVaires. He afterward came to this country on a visit, and returned accredited to the 
Porte as a full minister. He proved a very capable and worthy representative of his country, 
and rendered her vahiable services in the negotiation of imjiortant treaties with the Sult-m. His 
health, however, gradually failed, and he died at Pera, a suburb of Constantinople, on the 2bth 
of Marcli, 18^3, at the age of sixty-three. His body was brought home and interred in the 
grounds of the Naval Asylum near Philadelphia. 



1826-31.] NAVAL HISTORY. 31 

landed, wliilc one boat kept on, to board. The commander was ordered 
to come on shore, which he did after much hesitation, but then attempted 
to run away. The cutter, in the mean time, boarding, and resistance being 
made, a general firing ensued both on board and on shore. The pirates 
were finally subdued, with a loss on their part of eight killed and nine- 
teen taken prisoners. Several escaped by taking to the bushes. The 
schooner mounted two sixes on pivots, and four large swivels, besides arms 
for thirty-five men. She pretended to carry Spanish papers, but they 
were evidently false. Cases of American goods were also found, not only 
in the vessel, but also concealed in the bushes on shore. The next day 
they chased a schooner-rigged boat, which was deserted by the crew 
when they found they could not escape. 

Cora. Warrington, in discharging the duties of this command, gained 
a well-deserved reputation as a vigilant, active and zealous officer. More- 
over be was fully successful in accomplishing the object so long desired, 
the freedom of the seas from the dangerous presence of these lawless and 
inhuman rovers. In his message of December, 1826, the President was 
able to report to Congress, that piratical practices had been totally sup- 
pressed. At the same time the secretary of the navy says in his report: 
" The viev/ of our interests in the AVest Indies, so far as they are con- 
nected with the services of the navy, is more gratifying than at any time 
during the last four years." 

It was of course still necessary, during several years, to keep a squadron 
in these waters, until the permanent conviction that the United States 
were determined to protect their commerce effectually, was so thoroughly 
impressed upon this unprincipled and reckless class of men, that they 
abandoned all hope of a revival of their outlawed trade. In late years 
this region has become entirely freed from this source of annoyance and 
danger, and its maritime interests have been under the supervision of the 
home squadron. 



CHAPTER III. 
I 

Potomac under Com. Downes ordered to the East Indies— Attack of Malays on the crew of the 
ship Friendship — Potomac arrives at Quallah Battoo — Landing of the forces and attack upon tho 
town under Lieut. Shubrick — Sharp encounters at tlie scver.d forts — Malays defeated and pun- 
ished — Death of Com. Bambridge — Deaths of several of the older Commodores. 

The frigate Potomac 44, was selected, in 1831, to be the flag-ship of 
the Pacific squadron, and was placed under the command of Commodoi'e 
John Downes. It was originally intended that she should convey the 
Hon. Martin Van Buren, lately appointed minister to the court of St. 
James, to England, and then proceed by way of Cape Horn to her sta- 
tion. But intelligence of events in the East Indies, received at this time, 
altered the plan, and hastened her departure in a more direct course 
toward that part of the Pacific. The events which caused this change 
were these. The ship Friendship, Captain Endicott, of Salem, Mass., was 
lying, on the 7th of February, 1831, in the harbor of Quallah Battoo, 



32 NAVAL HISTORY. 



[1831. 



on the western coast of the island of Sumatra. Her officers and crew 
were engaged in taking on board a cargo of pepper. The pepper was 
purchased of the Malays, there being large plantations in the neighbor- 
hood devoted to its cultivation ; it was weighed on shore, and then carried 
of}" to the ship in her own boats rowed by natives hired for the occasion. 
On the morning of the day mentioned, Captain Endicott, his second 
mate, and four seamen were on shore as usual, attending to or watching 
the part of the business transacted there. The depot was situated a short 
distance up a river which ran through the town and emptied into the 
harbor. One boat received its load and was rowed to the mouth of the 
rivei', where it stopped, and, as the captain supposed, received some more 
natives on board ; but in reality the crew was changed, a body of armed 
men, double the number of the former crew, taking their place. This 
attracted the notice, but did not awaken the fears of the party on shore, 
and two of them were directed to watch. The boat proceeded alongside 
the ship, and commenced unloading. As more wei'e in the boat than 
were necessary for this purpose, the larger part went on board the ship. 
The mate ordered them back, but they lingered, and as he was attending 
to the reception of the pepper, they suddenly approached him from be- 
hind, stabbed him in the back and soon dispatched him. They also 
killed two seamen and wounded three others. Four seamen jumped 
overboard and succeeded in reaching the shore, though they swam two 
miles before they could safely land, as the Malays lined the beach. The 
ship was now in the possession of the treacherous and murderous assail- 
ants, and many more began to push off in boats to join them. 

In the mean time, the party on shoi-e perceived that there was trouble 
on board the vessel, and were able to step into their other boat and push 
out into the river, just in time to save their lives from an assault of the 
natives, who were exulting with delight, as they saw the signals of capture 
flying on board the ship. As they shoved oftj Po Adam, a Malay Rajah, 
who was peculiarly favorable to the Americans, sprang into the boat and 
went with them. The captain said, "What, you come too, Adam?" 
"Yes," he replied; "if they kill you, they must kill me first, captain." 
They were intercepted by a boat at the mouth of the river, but the mate, 
brandishing the cutlass of Po Adam, the only weapon indeed they had, 
kept the enemy at bay, so that they passed out uninjure<]. 

Seeing such numbers of Malaij^s on board, Captain Endicott concluded 
that any attempt to retake the ship would be but destruction to them- 
selves, and therefore steered for Muckie, a place twenty miles to the south, 
to obtain assistance. After a hard row they reached this place in the 
nio-ht, and found there one ship and two brigs, all American, the captains 
of which resolved to undertake the recapture of the Friendship. They 
proceeded to Quallah Battoo, and sent a demand to the principal Rajah 
for the restoration of the vessel. He refused to give her up, and taunt- 
ingly sent them word to take her " if they could." The Malays, in their at- 
tempts to get her to the shore, had run her upon a reef. The three vessels 
ranged as near as possible, and opened a fire upon her. This was returned 
both from the ship, and from the forts on shore. Finding the fire was 
ineffective, the Americans now manned their boats, and pulled toward the 
ship, with the intention of boarding. This the Malays did not care to 



1832.] NAVAL HISTORY. 33 

wait for, but threw themselves into the water and made for shore. Cap- 
tain Endicott was again master of his ship, but she liad been com- 
pletely rifled of all valuables. Twelve thousand dollars in sjjecie was 
stolen, and other property to a large amount, and as the voyage was 
abandoned, the entire loss to the owners was some forty thousand dollars. 

This account plainly discloses distinct evidences of a concealed plan on 
the part of the Rajahs and people to become possessed of this ship. 
These evidences need not be I'ecapitulated. 

When the Friendship arrived home, her owners laid a statement of 
these fjicts before the government, and in view of the interests of commerce, 
it was deemed exceedingly important that a vessel of war should show 
itself in these seas, and obtain redress for this special and aggravated 
wrong. Commodore Downes was instructed to this effect. 

The Potomac sailed from New York on the 21st of August, 1831, 
having a complement, of all ranks, of five hundred men. She touched 
at the Cape of Good Hope, in search of information. No very ceitain 
or extensive knowledge could be obtained respecting the place or people, 
to whom this first visit of an American national ship was to be made. 
Not even a full and reliable chart of the coast could be obtained. The 
place, named Quallah Battoo, is situated, as has been already stated, on 
the western shore of the island of Sumatra. It lies entirely open to the 
sea. The navigation in the vicinity is exceedingly difficult and danger- 
ous; reefs and shoals lining the shore. The town, including the neighbor- 
ing pepper plantations, and thus embracing those who may be regarded as 
under one government, may have had a population of four thousand souls. 
It is almost perfectly concealed in a thick growth of timber and jungle. 
Several small forts, mounted with three or four guns each, constitute its 
defences; which, indeed, are quite effectual against the attacks of neighbor- 
ing tribes. 

The Quallah Battooans form an independent community, owing no 
particular allegiance to any power. They pay some tribute to the King of 
Acheeu, but he does not hold himself responsible for any of theii' acts. They 
are divided into various clans, at the head of each of which is a Rajah or 
chief. They are a treacherous race, acknowledging none of the laws that 
govern civilized rations, and in fact cannot be considered, in the light of 
justice and morality, as any better than pirates. They are of a warlike 
disposition, and in respect to courage and military skill, are by no means 
to be tlespised. 

On the 5th of February, 1832, the Potomac arrived on the coast of Su- 
matra. Commodore Downes disguised the frigate as a merchantman, 
and then stood in and anchored about three miles from the town. Several 
officers, dressed as citizens and sailors, lowed toward the shore in a small 
boat, with the intention of landing, and gaining some idea of the localities. 
But the Malays evidently had their suspicions aroused, and manifested 
such signs of hostility, that it was- not deemed prudent to attempt to land. 
Cora. Downes being convinced that any mere verbal demand for satisfac- 
tion would be entirely useless, and only give time for the Malays to pre- 
pare better for their defence, determined to make an attack as soon as 
possible, in hopes of taking them by surprise, and- securing the persons 
of some of the Rajahs; holding whom as hostages, he might gain higher 



34 NAVAL HISTORY. [1832. 

terms of satisfaction. Preparations to land the same niglit were therefore 
made. Two hundred and fifty seamen and marines were detailed for the 
duty, with proper division officers, and the whole placed under the com- 
mand of Irvine Shubrick, the first lieutenant of the ship. Mr. Barry, 
who was the second mate of the Friendship at the time of the massacre, 
had come out as master's mate in the Potomac, in order that he might 
render service as a guide. He had a general knowledge of the position 
of the forts, and rendered invaluable aid in directing the attacking 
parties. 

At a sufl[icient time before daylight to be unobserved, the boats were 
hoisted out, and the men stowed away iu them ; when they quietly and 
swiftly pulled toward shore. They went in through a heavy surf, but 
were all safely landed, and in fifteen minutes were formed in their line 
of march. Lieut. Edson led the van with the marines. The first divis- 
ion of the seamen Avas commanded by Lieut. Pinkham, the second by 
Lieut. Hoff, and the third by Lieut. Ingersoll. A six-pounder followed 
under the charge of sailing-master Totten. The boats were directed to 
keep company just outside the surf. 

When the dny dawned, the march commenced along the beach. The 
Malays were anticipating an attack, for their scouts were seen. Lieut. 
Hoff" was ordered to surround the first fort, which was the most northern 
one. He left the main body with his division, and soon came to the 
outworks, consisting of a strong stockade of timber. Within this there 
was still a citatl.el, armed with small cannon. No time was afforded for 
parley and conciliation, for, as soon as the division approached, the Malays 
commenced the action by a sharp fire from all arms. They fought with 
great bravery and steadiness, and were found to be no mean adversaries. 
Lieut. Hoft* succeeded in breaking thiough the gateway of the stockade, 
but the Malays still stood the attack for two hours, within their citadel. 
Finding it impossible to dislodge them by a distant fire, preparations were 
made to take the citadel by storm. It was necessary to tear up some of 
the palisades and to form a bridge of them, over which the eager seamen 
rushed, carrying the work which had so long held them in check, by an 
assault, which the Malays could not withstand. They fled, leaving twelve 
dead, but carrying their wounded with them. 

Lieut. Edson, with his marines, attacked the next fort situated in the 
rear of the town. The Malays behaved with the same spirit here. But 
they could not face the marines, as with steady discipline they stormed 
the fort, and forced their way into it. The contest was not continued so 
long here as at the first fort. 

Mr. Barry was unable to find the other fort in the rear of the town, 
so thoroughly was it concealed in the trees; so that Lieut. Pinkham, who 
had been sent against it with the first division, led his men through the 
town, and rejoined Lieut. Shubrick. The latter had already commenced 
his attack, with the third division under Lieut. Ingersoll, aided by the 
six-pounder, upon the principal fort, situated at the southern point of the 
town, and quite near the beach. Here the fight was long and gallantly 
maintained on both sides. The six-pounder was brought up, and being 
managed with adrair;uble precision and skill by Mr. Totten, did great ex- 
ecution. The gate of the outer defences was soon forced, and the men 



1832.] NAVAL HISTORY.' 35 

rushed in without rehictance, anxious to come to closer quarters Tvith their 
foes. But tiie severest part of their work yet remained to be done. The 
stronghold, consisting of an elevated platform mounted with several cannon, 
still held out, and our men had to stand the fire from it without protection. 
The ladder to the platform had of course been removed, and in the at- 
tempt to climb up to it one of the seamen was killed and several wero 
wounded. At this critical moment Lieutenants Hotf and Edson, having 
secured their victories, came up with detachments from their divisions, 
and took a position between the fort and the water, from which they 
poured in a very etfective cross fire. The men in the boats were also near 
enough to make their fire felt in the contest. The battle now raged 
against the devoted Malays with exterminating severity. Although thus 
closely invested, and numbers falling under so well conducted a fire, they 
yet fought with desperation ; and it was not till almost all were killed, 
tliat their position could be carried. Their guns were then spiked and 
dismounted. 

There was still another large fort upon the opposite side of the river.. 
It had kept up an annoying fire upon our troops from a twelve-pounder, 
during the attack upon the last fort. But it was found impracticable to 
ford the river, and it was not prudent to bring the boats around into it, 
so that an attack upon this one was relinquished. 

The town was now fired and much of it was reduced to ashes. The 
fort which Lieut. Pinkham's division was unable to find, now revealed its. 
position by opening its fire. A detachment was ordered to capture it* 
The Malays as usual fought fiercely. But success had animated the 
Americans with even unwonted zeal and impetuosity, and after a short 
conflict they carried this work by assault. The Malays suffered greatly 
at this point also. Those able to flee escaped through secret passages in 
the jungle, into which it was worse than useless to follow' them. 

The action had now continued about two hours and a half, and with 
success on our part at every point attacked. The surf began to increase 
so much as to render it unsafe for the boats to remain longer near the 
shore. Large numbers of Malays also began to collect in the rear of the 
town, and the oflicer in command wisely judged that further injury even 
to the enemy could not be necessary after the severe retaliatory measures 
just inflicted. The order was therefore given to re-embark, and soon the 
victorious troops were again on board of the frigate. This success was pur- 
chased at some cost to our own brave men, though it was comparatively 
small. Two men were killed; two officers and nine men were wounded. 
The loss of the enemy must have been very severe; for it was knowa 
that at least one hundred and fifty were killed. Among those killed was 
the Rajah who was principally concerned in the capture and plunder of 
the Friendship. Com. Downes in his report of the affair, remarks: 
" Lieut. Shubrick has my warmest acknowledgement for the able and 
gallant manner in which he conducted the expedition." In his report 
to Commodore Downes, Lieut. Shubrick says: "The lieutenants, com- 
manding the different divisions, have reported to me the entire satisfaction 
they derived from the coolness and bravery of the officers and men under 
their particular commands." 

The next morning the Potomac stood in, and anchored within a mile 



36 NAVAL HISTORY. [1833. 

of the town, bringing her broadside to bear upon it. The Malays thought, 
or pretended to think, that the Americans had no ships of war, or "ships 
with big guns," inasmuch as none had ever appeared off tlieir coast. 
Commodore Downes thought it would be an impressive lesson for them 
to learn, from their own observation, the power of heavy guns. He con- 
sequently opened a fire with thirty-two pound shot upon the fort on the 
other side of the river, which had been so troublesome the day before. 
As the shot began to plough their way through the wooden structurCf 
the Malays, abundantly convinced, fled from its slender protection. After 
cutting up the fort very severely, seeing white flags raised in various 
places, the Commodore ordered hostilities to cease. A white flag shortly 
came off to the ship, accompanied by several of the inhabitants, who 
expressed the greatest penitence for their misdeeds, sued most humbly 
for peace, and begged especially that no more " big guns " should be 
fired. 

Com. Downes, through an interpreter, addressed them respecting their 
conduct in the case of the Friendship, set forth its enormity, cautioned 
them as to their future treatment of Americans, and threatened them 
with the power of his country should they again manifest similar 
treachery and barbarity. The Potomac then proceeded by the way of 
China to her station in the Pacific. After a full account, and a particular 
explanation of the causes which induced him to retaliate by force without 
any previous demand for satisfaction upon the Rajahs of Quallah Battoo, 
the course of Com. Downes met the approval of the government. 

In 1833, the navy was called upon to mourn the death of one of its 
long distinguished captains; one of that number whose personal fame 
appears identified with the fame of the service itself. On the 28th of July 
in this year, Com. William Bainbridge expired in the city of Philadelphia, 
in the sixtieth year of his age. He entered the navy in 1798, his com- 
mission as a lieutenant being offered him by the secretary without any 
solicitation on his part. His career has been traced in the preceding his- 
tory up to the time of his return from the Mediterranean in 1815. For 
several years after this he remained in command of the Boston station, 
being permitted also to retain on board of his favorite ship, the Independ- 
ence, a full complement of officers and about two-thirds of a crew. In 
November, 1819, he was ordered to the new line-of-battle ship Columbus, 
and again sent out as the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean 
squadron. He returned from this, his last cruise, in the summer of 1821. 
He was subsequently appointed to the command of the Philadelphia 
station, then to the Boston station, and then for three years was president 
of the Navy Board. He afterward returned to the Philadelphia station, 
but in 1832, was again placed in command at Boston, where, however, 
he remained but a short time, as the climate seriously affected his now 
declining health. He therefore returned to his family in Philadelphia, 
where he remained until his death. About two hours before he died, 
bis mind began to wander, and he called for his sword and pistols, 
which not being attended to, he raised himself partially in bed, and de- 
manded these instruments with great vehemence, and ordered that al! 
hands should be called to board the enemy ! 

Though not in the order of time, we will here mention the dates of the 



1833.] NAVAL HISTORY. 37 

deaths of the older and more prominent captains, who have been so often 
mentioned rn the main history.* 

Com. John Shaw died in Philadelphia on the l7th of September, 
1823, at the age of fifty. He returned from the command of the Medi- 
terranean squadron in 18X7, and afterward commanded at the Boston 
and Charleston stations. 

Com. John Rodgers after the close of the war with Great Britain, 
served as president of the Board of Naval Commissioners for twenty-one 
years, with but an interval of two years, when he was in command of 
the Mediterranean squadron, in the North Carolina 74. He died at 
Philadelphia on the 1st of Angust, 1838, aged sixty-seven years. 

Com. Isaac Hull was employed at various stations on shore and also 
on the Navy Board. He wore a broad pennant in the Pacific, and after- 
ward in the Mediterranean on board the Ohio 74. His death occurred 
in Philadelphia, on the 13th of Februarj', 1843, in his sixty-eighth year. 

Cora. Jacob Jones commanded in 1821 in the Mediterranean, and in 
1826 in the Pacific. He was also a navy commissioner, and commanded 
at various navy-yards. He died at Philadelphia on the 3d of August, 
1850, in the eighty-second year of his age, being at the time the gover- 
nor of the Naval Asylum. 

Com. Isaac Chauncey succeeded Bainbridge, in 1816, in the command 
of the Mediterranean squadron. He was never at sea again, but per- 
formed the usual shore service, and while president of the Navy Board, 
died on the 27th of January, 1840. 

Com. Jesse D. Elliot was employed in quite constant sea-service after 
the close of the British war. He commanded the Ontario in Decatur's 
squadron in the war against Algiers, and was successively on the Brazil 
station, and in command of the West India and of the Mediterranean 
squadrons. On charges in connection with this last command, he was 
sentenced to a suspension of four years, but was restored before the ex- 
piration of the time. He died in command of the Philadelphia navy- 
yard, on the 10th of December, 1845, aged fifty-six years. 

Com. Melancthon T. Woolsej', who performed such good service ou 
the lakes, hoisted a broad pennant on the Brazil station, toward the close 
of his hfe, and died soon after his return, in 1838, he being about 
fifty-six years of age. 

Com. Lewis Warrington was the successor of Com. Porter in the com- 
mand of the naval force assembled in the West Indies for the suppression 
of piracy. He was for some time president of the Board of Navy Com- 
missioners, and at the time of his death, was chief of the Bureau of Ord- 
nance and Hydrography. He died at Washington on the 12th of 
October, 1851. 

Com. Thomas M'Donough earned his laurels early. After his great 
battle on Lake Champlain, he was continued in active duty; but his 
career was not a long one. He died on the 10th of November, 1825, 
at sea, when about ten days from Gibraltar, being on his return from the 
command of the Mediterranean squadron. He was about forty-two years 
of age at the time of his death. 

• Biographies of several of those whose decease is here mentioned, vrill he found tn Coopbr's 
LivKs OF Naval Officers, which includes Uainbridge, Shaw, Preble, Shubrick, Somers, PauJ 
Jones, Woolsey, Perry, Dale, Barry, and a history of "Old Ironsides." 



38 NAVAL HISTORY. [1833. 

Com. James Bidclle, it will be remembered, commanded a naval force 
against the pirates in 1822. He died on the first of October, 1848, at 
his residence in Philadelphia, not being in any command at the time, 
but having- recently returned from the command of the East India squad- 
ron and on the Pacific station. 

Com, James Barron never was sent to sea by the government after his 
unfortunate affair in the Chesapeake. His suspension lasted five years, 
and at different times he was in command at Philadelphia and Noifolk. 
When too infirm for active service, he retired to the latter place to I'esiile, 
and died there in 1851, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. He 
held a commission as post-captain since 1709, and headed the list of 
captains at the time of his death. 



CHAPTER IV. 

United States Exploring; Expedition — Lieut. Wilkes appointed to the command — Sails in Axiguit, 
1833 — Pro^'ress to Cape Horn — First Antarctic cruise — Loss of the Sea Gull — Pi-ogress to Syd- 
ney — Second Antarctic cruise — Perils and escapes — Peacock amonp the ice — Return to the 
northward — Extensive explorations anions the South Sea islands — Attack upon Suahb— Mur- 
der of Lieut. Underwood and Midshipman Henry— Severe punishment of the natives — Arrival 
at the Sandv.ich Islands — Crui.singjs among; various island groups — Arrival and surveys upon 
the north-west coast — Cruise of the Peacock — Her wreck at the Columbia river — Return of 
the vessels across the Pacific — Kendezvous at Singapore — Course homeward — Mutiny on beard 
U. S. brig Somers. 

The entire hi.story of the people of the United States evinces their pe- 
culiar aptitude for maritime pursuits. The enterprise of no other nation, 
ancient or modern, has so rapidly given existence to so vast a commerce. 
During the state of colonial dependence, and in the very infancy of 
national independence, the genius of the nation took this direction so 
readily, as to give promise of some future unwonted development. That 
promise has been abundantly redeemed. Every sea has curled its foam, 
in token of subjection, under^ the conquering prow of the American 
merchantmen. Yet the nation had lived a half century in the power 
and prosperity of its separate existence, and had taken rank beyond dis- 
pute beside the first maritime power of the world, before the government 
made any attempts to investigate the many obscure points, and the many 
unknown portions of that great element of the earth, upon which was 
risked so large a propoition of the wealth of its subjects. 

It was natural that even for so long a period, it should modestly leave 
these undertakings to such older nations as could conrraand the leisure, 
the wealth, and the science necessary, while it could but encourage its 
seamen in the practical task of availing themselves of the labors of ex- 
perienced and scientific navigators. Still it must certainly be perceived, 
that bare justice to so important a branch of national industry, as well as 
a noble spirit of emulation in the career of scientific discovery, would at 
some period demand that a government, representing so much mental 
vigor and physical greatness in the people, shoidd peiform some generous 
and efficient service in the cause of nautical exploration. Such consider- 
ations have prevailed, and such a demand has been responded to on tha 



1838.] NAVAL HISTORY. 39 

part of the government. As tlie officers, seamen, and vessels of the navy 
v/ere employed in this expedition, it comes properly within the scope and 
intention of this VFork, to give a succinct account of its course and its 
results. 

Congress, by a law of the ISth of May, 1836, authorized the equip- 
ment and employment of a portion of the national marine, for the pur- 
pose of exploring those seas in which the whale-fisheries, as well as other 
branches of commercial enterprise, were pursued. The appropriations 
of money were liberal, and the expenditures for the numerous items of 
outfit, necessary for so unusual a voyage, were made on the most lavish 
scale. But for various reasons, which need not here he set forth or dis- 
cussed, the organization and departure of the expedition were delayed 
from month to month, until, indeed, years began to settle upon the 
abortive plan, and the very mention of its ambitious title would provoke 
ridicule. Difterent olficei's, appointed to the command, successively re- 
signed, and finally all but one of the vessels of the number originally 
selected were change<l. This state of things continued until the spring 
of 1838. On the 20th of March, 1838, Charles Wilkes, lieutemint in 
the nav)', was directed to assume the command of the expedition. 

The instructions issued to him by the Navy Department, dated the 
11th of August, 1838, indicated the following objects to be aimed at: 
" To explore and survey the Southern Ocean, having in view the import- 
ant interest of our commerce embarked in the whale-fisheries, as well as 
to determine the existence of all doubtful islands and shoals; and to 
discover and accurately fix the position of those which lie in or near the 
track pursued by our merchant vessels in that quarter, and which may 
have hitherto escaped the observation of scientific navigators." 

" Although the primary object of the expedition is the promotion of 
the great interests of commerce and navigation, yet all occasions will be 
taken, not incompatible with the great purpose of the undertaking, to 
extend the bounds of science, and to promote the acquisition of knowl- 
edge. For the more successful attainments of these objects, a corps of 
scientific gentlemen, for the departments of philology, zoology, conch- 
ology, geology, mineralogy and botany, with artists and a horticulturist, 
will accompany the expedition, and are placed under your direction. The ■ 
hydrography and geography of the various seas and countries you may 
visit in the route pointed out to you, will occupy your special attention; 
and all the researches connected with them, as well as M'ith astronomy, 
terrestrial magnetism, and meteorology, are confided exclusively to the 
officers of the navy, on whose zeal and talents the department confidently 
relies for such results as will enable future navigators to pass over the 
track traversed by your vessels, without fear and without danger." 

The track marked out in the instructions required a circumnavigation 
of the globe, with a divergence quite toward the southern pole, and so 
far toward the north as the western possessions of the United States ex- 
tended, with frequent crossings of the Pacific Ocean and extensive 
cruisings among its countless islands. This course it will be seen was 
very fully and faithfully pursued through a space of three years and ten 
months. 

The vessels composing the squadron were, the sloop of war Vincennes, 



40 NAVAL HISTORY. [1838. 

Lieutenant Wilkes, commanding tlie expedition ; the sloop of war Pea- 
cock, William L. Hudson, Lieutenant commanding; the brig of war 
Pojtpoise, Cadwalader Ringgold, Lieutenant commanding; store-ship 
Relief, A. K, Long, Lieutenant commanding; tenders Sea Gull and 
Flying Fish, commanded by Passed-midshipmen Reid and Knox. The 
tenders were oi-iginally New York pilot boats, purchased and altered for 
this service. The officers throughout were volunteers. 

The larger portion of the summer was consumed in the necessary 
preparations, and even then the outfit was by no means complete. On 
the 8th of August, 1838, the vessels dropped down to Hampton Roads, 
and on the 19th of the same month they put to sea. 

Li the body of this work many instances are cited to enforce tho 
nautical principle of the necessity of an approximate equality in the 
sailing capacity of the several vessels of a squadron amid actual hostilities; 
as the most unprofessional must perceive that the fastest sailing vessels 
must, for concert of action, conform their progress to the attainments of 
the dullest sailer. This expedition, which, from the nature of its objects, 
required a precision and an attainable harmony in the movement of all 
its members upon a given point, was embarrassed by a violation of the 
same valuable principle. 

The store-ship Relief was soon fownd to be a dull sailer, and incapable 
of acting with the rest of the squadron; she was therefore ordered to 
proceed alone to Rio Janeiro. Subsequently she proved so much of a 
hindrance, that from Callao she was dispatched home, leaving her sup- 
plies at the Sandwich Islands and Sidney, and so no longer formed a pari 
of the expedition. 

The squadron first sailed for Madeira, stopping there a Aveek; then it 
took a southerly course, touched at the Cape de Verde Islands, and ar- 
rived at Rio on the 24th of November. In passing over poitious of the 
ocean where shoals or reefs were supposed to exist, the vessels sailed in 
open order, from three to five miles apart ; thus giving the opportunity 
of examining carefully a space of about twenty miles in breadth, and 
afibi'ding means of fully determining many obscure points in hydro- 
graphy. This course, pursued in all similar cases, gave many valuable 
results, and furnished reliable data for the science of navigation. After 
certain observations, surveys, and repairs, on the 6th of January, they 
left Rio; stopped at the Rio Negro, 41° south latitude, for the purpose 
of ascertaining the resources of the country, and the inducements it 
offered for ti'ade; doubled Cape Horn on the 16th of February, and 
shortly after entered Orange Harbor, which had been appointed as the 
place of rendezvous. 

From this point was made the first attempt at Antarctic discovery. 
For this purpose it was advisable not to pi'oceed in squadron. The Vin- 
cennes was left anchored in Orange Harbor; her officers employed in 
making surveys and recording observations. Lieut. Cora. Wilkes went 
on board the Porpoise, and taking the Sea Gull with him, proceeded 
toward the South. He penetrated as far in that direction as the season 
would permit. The weather becoming very unpropitious, the vessels 
being constantly exposed amid fogs and icebergs, and the equipments of 
the crew proving insufficient for such severe navigation, he was unable to 



1839.J NAVAL HISTORY. 41 

prosecute the work of discovery to any great extent. He coasted along- 
Palmer's Land and observed its course, but could not reacli a high south- 
ern latitude. Here they gained their first experience of the exciting- 
grandeur presented in the severer forms of nature in the polar regions. 
IBoth vessels returned safely to Oi'ange Harbor about the close of March. 
The Peacock, accompanied by the Flying Fish, bore off in a south- 
westerly direction. They soon separated in a gale. They cruised, how- 
ever, mainly in the same direction, their object being to attain if possible 
the ne plus ultra of Captain Cook, and to observe the changes which 
might have occurred in the appearance of the ice since his time. The 
Flying Fish did reach within sixty miles of the desired point, and it 
seemed at one time that she would penetrate beyond ; but the fickle 
weather, and the ever shifting islands of ice soon disappointed that hope. 
At times the ice fields closed around her, as if decreeing her destruction, 
but bold and skillful seamanship accomplished her deliverance. The 
Peacock was often exposed to like dangers, and her escapes were alike 
wonderful. Finding the season too far advanced for useful or safe navi- 
gation, and the crews suffering severely from the unsuitable character of 
the vessels for such service, they both turned northward. On the 25th 
of March, to their mutual joy, they fell in with each other, and sailed 
together until the first of April, when the Peacock bore up for Valparaiso, 
and the tender made her way to Orange Harbor. 

The Relief, in the mean time, taking on board the most of the scien- 
tific gentlemen, proceeded toward the Straits of Magellan, in order to 
gain information respecting the country. But having consumed much 
time on the passage, and having lost her anchors while endeavoring to 
ride out a severe and long gale at Noir Island, which accident came very 
near causing the wreck of the vessel on a reef toward which slie drifted, 
it was concluded at a council of officers, to steer directly for Valparaiso. 
Thus the object of her detachment was entirely frustrated. In the lat- 
ter part of May the Vincenncs, Peacock, Porpoise and Flying Fish were 
together in the harbor of Valparaiso. Here they waited in vain for the 
arrival of the Sea Gull. This valuable little schooner had sailed with 
her consort, the Flying Fish, from Orange Harbor. A severe gale came 
upon them the first night they were out, when they lost sight of each 
other. The latter vessel regained the Harbor, and rode out the gale safely. 
But no account has ever been received of her companion. It is probable 
she was lost in the gale. Passed-midshipmen J. W. E. Reid, and F. A. 
Bacon, with a crew of fifteen men, were lost by this disaster. These officers 
had won excellent characters in the service, and their untimely end could 
not but cause sadness among their companions in adventure and danger. 
The squadron next stopped at Callao. Both in Chili ami Peru, the 
officers and scientific corps were active in gaining valuable information 
in the various dei)artments to which they were devoted. But our limits 
will allow us to give only an outline sketch of even the strictly maritime 
labors and results of the expedition. 

In accordance with instructions, they now stretched in a due westerly 
course across the Pacific, leaving Callao on the 12th of July. They 
examined various island groups lying in their course, verified some doubtful 
points in hydrography, added largely to their scientific accumulations, and 



42 NAVAL HISTORY. [1840. 

arrived at Sidney, New South Wales, on tbe 28th of November. The 
coinmander speaks warmly of the courtesy with wliich they were re- 
ceived and entertained during their stay, by the English authorities and 
residents. 

Preparations were now made for another and more extensive cruise in the 
polar seas. After all that could be done in the form of repairs, it was still 
apparent that the vessels were but imperfectly fitted for the trying ordeal 
before them. The Peacock, indeed, was in such a condition, that it was 
involving considerable risk to take her on so perilous a voyage. But the 
reputation of tbe expedition and the honor of the nation were deeply 
involved in the venture, and properly proved preponderating motives, for 
persistence through painful uncertainties. 

It was wisely determined that the members of the scientific corps should 
pursue their I'esearches through the wide field opened to them in New 
Holland and New Zealand, during the absence of the vessels. 

On the 26th of December, the expedition once more turned toward 
the extreme south which forbids man's approach by the savage frown of 
nature and the gloomy reign of death, while enticing him by the chances 
of discovery and renown amid her unknown wonders. Considerations 
relating to the safety of the vessels, the saving of time, and the awakening 
of a more active and promising spirit of emulation, induced Lieutenant 
Com. Wilkes to direct each vessel to act independently of her consorts, 
when arrived in the region of the designed explorations. The Flying 
Fish consequently parted from the squadron on the 2d, and the Peacock 
on the 3d of January. The Vincennes and the Porpoise remained in 
company until the 12th. The day previous, they came in sight of the 
sohd barrier of ice in latitude 64° 11' S., longitude 164° 53' E. The 
Peacock came up with the ice on the loth, and the Flying Fish on the 
21st, both more to the westward of the former vessels. 

No doubt now remains of the existence of land within the Antarctic 
circle. The testimony of both French and English exploring expeditions 
confirms the fact, which it is claimed the American expedition first estab- 
lished as a part of geographical knowledge. This fact is determined by 
repeated and continuous observations made separately on board tbe 
Vincennes, the Peacock, and the Porpoise. And the discovery was made 
some days before the officers of the French expedition claim to have 
made the same. The American vessels coasted some sixty-five degrees 
of longitude along the impenetrable barrier of ice, observing throughout 
most of this distance, highlands evidently reaching thousands of feet in 
altitude, and covered with perpetual snow. They met also other decisive 
signs of contiguous land. All the evidence sustains the claim, that these 
elevated points of land are not poi'tions of mere detached islands inclosed 
within a frozen sea, but are the visible parts of a vast Antarctic continent, 
the main extent undistinguishable from the resplendent snow fringe skirt- 
ing its ocean boundary. No human beings inhabit these regions, and 
the representatives of any animal tribes are very few. 

It was not without great hardships and perilous exposures, that the 
expedition gained these honors of the discoverer. All the vessels suffered 
from severe and prolonged gales, heightened in their fearfulness, and 
armed with unusual elements of destruction, by the addition of vast and 



1840.] NAVAL HISTORY. 43 

innumerable icebei'gs, and masses of floe-ice. It must be observed also 
that the temperature was most of the time below the freezing point, and 
that mists, fogs, sleet and snow storms, were relieved by but occasional 
clear and sunny days. 

The Flying Fish was soon compelled to return northward. Her crew 
was so reduced by sickness that they were unable to reef the foresail, 
and consequently the vessel was obliged to carry the whole sail duiing a 
gale of several days' duration, which caused her to labor heavily and to 
leak so much, that it was necessary to keep the pumps going constantly. 
The imperative demands of safety, constrained the officers to retrace their 
steps to a more genial clime. 

The Peacock, however, ran the gauntlet of dangers in tlie most heroic 
and successful manner. Her commander, in order if possible to make 
more accurate determinations respecting the land seen in the distance, ran 
into a deep bay filled with a large number of icebergs. He obtained 
soundings in three hundred and twenty fathoms, thus clearly establishing 
the proximity of land. The dangers which now brought the ship to the 
very verge of destruction, can best be detailed in the language employed 
by Lieutenant Com. Hudson, in his report to the department. " While 
further pursuing the object of our search in this vicinity on the morning 
of the 24th, and endeavoring to clear some ice ahead of us, the ship 
made a sternboard, and came in contact with a large piece of ice, which 
carried away one of the wheel-ropes, wrenched the neck of the rudder, 
and rendered it useless. 

"We immediately commenced working ship with the sails and ice- 
anchors into a more open sea. In this we were successful for a time, 
until an increase of wind and a change in its direction, brought in upon 
us masses of ice for miles in extent, wliich completely beset the ship, lin- 
ished the work of destruction on our rudder, and forced us into the im- 
mediate vicinity of an ice-island some seven or eight miles in extent, with 
an elevation equaling our toj)gallant-masthead, and its upper portion in- 
clining toward the ship. In this situation we furled all but the fore-and- 
aft sails, and hung by our ice anchors. 

" Fortunately, between us and a portion of this island lay a large piece 
of ice, one end of which held us by the counter, until forced beyond it 
by the pressing masses of ice outside, whicli stalled our anchors and set us 
stern on to the island, cari-ying away our spanker-boom and stern-davits, 
and forcing the starboard quai'ter-deck bulwarks in end some three or 
four inches, jamming a signal-gun hard and fast in the gangway, and 
breaking off the bulwark stanchions on that side of the quarter-deck. 
"We took this occasion to cant her with the jib, into a narrow channel 
alongside the island, and with the help, of other sails, passed by a portion 
of it without further injury to our spars, until an opportunity jsresented 
of forcing her into a small opening in the ice, with the head toward 
the sea. 

" Our rudder, which we unshipped and got in upon deck while wedged 
in the ice, came in over the side in two pieces, the head and neck entirely 
broken oti', with the two midship pintles, and we shortly afterward 
found the upper and lower braces gone from the stern-post. Toward 
midnight the sea was increasing, accompanied with snow, with every 



44 NAVAL HISTORY. [1840. 

indication of a gale from seaward ; and the ice, with which we were con- 
tinually in contact, or actually jammed, more formidable in character, 
rapidly accumulating outside of us, and forming a compact mass. I 
found, as we were nearing the open sea, that we had been carried so far 
to leeward by the ice, as to be in great danger of taking up our last resi- 
dence in the barrier, amongst bei'gs and islands of ice. There was there- 
fore no chance left, but to force her out, or giind and thump the ship to 
pieces in the attempt. 

" Aided by a kind Pro\'idence, we reached an open space on the mor- 
ning of the 25th, after having beat off the gripe of the ship, &c.; and 
at meridian the carpenters had so far secured our rudder that it was 
again shipped, in the two remaining braces left on the stern-post. We 
were yet surrounded by ice and icebergs, in a bay some thirty miles in 
extent, from which no outlet could be seen from the mast-head. At mid- 
night, however, we found a passage, about half a mile in width, betM'eea 
some bergs and field-ice." 

Though having gained the open sea in safety, the ship was so dam- 
aged, as to requii'e the commander, in the exercise of common prudence, 
to steer directly for Sidney. On examination for repairs, it was found 
that the action of the ice had ground the stem off to within an inch and 
a half of the wood ends of the planking; thus revealing the very narrow 
escape that had been effected. 

The Vincennes, in the persevering efforts of her commander to reach 
and examine the land, also became repeatedly involved in the wide fields 
of floating ice. Gales were encountered in such situations, which drove 
the ship along the borders of the huge moving masses, with a velocity 
which would have caused instant destruction, had not the management 
been both skillful and fortunate. The Porpoise also encountered the same 
difficulties, which must ever characterize polar navigation, but was able 
successfully to carry out her instructions, and pushed on as far as longi- 
tude 100° E., and latitude 64° 15' S., from which point she also com- 
menced her return. During the cruise along this lonely coast, her com- 
mander reports a most surprising instance of national envy and jealousy. 
On the 30th of January two vessels were discovered, which proved to be 
French discovery ships under Captain D'Urville. Lieut. Com. Ringgold 
says: "Desirous of speaking, and exchanging the usual and customary 
compliments incident to na\-al life, I closed with them, designing to pass 
within hail, under the flag-ship's stern. When within short musket-shot, 
my intentions too evident to excite a doubt, so far from a reciprocity being 
evinced, I saw, with surprise, sail made on board the flag-ship. With- 
out a moment's delay, I hauled down my colois, and bore up on my 
course." 

The Vincennes penetrated as far as longitude 97° E. ; the weather then 
evincing that the short and doubtful reign of the Antarctic summer was 
over, she finally turned away from the cheerless coast. 

The results of this cruise are certainly honorable to the skill, vigilance, 
enterprise, and prudence of the officers, and to the cheerful endurance 
and prompt obedience of the crews, of all the vessels. The reputation 
of the American navy was augmented by this, the first attempt in a new 
field of effort, in which a weighty responsibility was met by a vigoroua 



1840.] NAVAL HISTORY. 45 

exercise of those moral qualities, which had been developed by previous 
more appropriate trials. 

The squadron found constant occupation during the ensuing summer 
m surveying and exploring duties, amid the numerous islands of the 
Southern Archipelago. New Zealand, the Friendly Islands, and the 
Fejee Group were visited for these purposes. The extent of labor per- 
formed may be estimated when the commander states, that one hundred 
and fifty-four islands, and fifty detatched reefs were surveyed, and besides 
this, numerous harbors were suiveyed and sounded. Nor was there any 
want of eftbrt and success in gaining useful information of all kinds re- 
lating to commerce, in enlarging the collections illustrating the various 
branches of natural science, and in obtaining full acquaintance with the 
character, the manners, the modes of life, and the moral condition of the 
inhabitants, thus making a valuable contribution to the science of 
Ethnology. 

Though prosecuting a work of peace, and especially desirous of estab- 
lishing permanent relations of amity with the barbarous tribes of the 
Pacific, in order to the greater security of commerce, still, during its stay 
in the Fejee Group, the expedition was under the necessity of twice put- 
ting in exercise its military power. In July a surveying party, under 
Lieutenant Perry in a launch and Mr. Knox in a first cuttei-, ran into 
Sualib bay for shelter during a storm. In endeavoring to beat out again 
the cutter ran on a reef at low tide, and it was found impossible to get 
her off. The natives in great numbers and well armed, soon collected 
near, and commenced a serious attack. The ammunition in the cutter 
being all wet, and the launch being unable to render any effective assist- 
ance in repelling the savages, the ciew abandoned the boat, and went on 
board the launch. On the 12th the launch rejoined the Vincennes and 
Peacock. Immediately the schooner and eight boats from the ships, 
with an extra complement of men, under the immediate command of 
Lieutenants Wilkes and Hudson, proceeded to inflict merited punishment 
upon the natives. They entered the bay and cautiously marched to the 
principal village, meeting with no resistance, though the inhabitants of 
this island were unusually well supplied with fire-arms, and had the ad- 
vantage of a good position, from which they might have inflicted con- 
siderable injury on the Americans. The town, consisting of about sixty 
slender huts, was burned, and the savages were taught a salutary lesson, 
without the loss of any lives. The cutter was recovered, but property 
in it, to the value of a thousand dollars, was stolen. 

A tragical aft'air occurred during the latter part of July, at Malolo, an 
island of the same group. Lieut. Underwood with a party landed on 
this island, during a survey carried on in two of the boats of the squad- 
ron, under the command of Lieut. Alden, for the purpose of ascending 
a height to look for the Porpoise. He was soon recalled, in consequence 
of some suspicious movements among the natives, bringing with him a 
young native, who was retained as a. hostage. The next morning the 
same officer landed for the purpose of procuring provisions. The natives 
for some reason manifested considerable reluctance to trading, and Lieut. 
Underwood and party remained some length of time on shore in unsuc- 
cessful attempts at negotiation. In the mean time Midshipman Henry 



46 l^AVAL HISTORY. [1840. 

desired, and was allowed to join those on shore. The natives now began 
to collect in greater numbers, and evidently were not in a friendly mood. 
The symptoms of an attack became so manifest, that Lieut. Under- 
wood called his party together and ordered a retreat to the boat. At 
the same time the hostage suddenly jumped out of Lieut. Alden's boat 
and commenced running toward the shore. A midshipman fired over 
his head, but this did not stop his escape. The report of fire-arms was 
heard on shore, and it became evident to those in the boats that their 
companions were engaged in a serious conflict with an overpowering 
number of savages. They pushed for the land, and as soon as their fire- 
arms bore eftectively, the savages disappeared in a hasty retreat. But 
the murderous deed had been consummated. On landing they found 
one seaman badly wounded, and Lieut. Underwood and Midshipman 
Henry lying prostrate near the beach. The ofiicers in a few momenta 
expired in Uie arms of their friends; and their bodies, rescued from the 
revolting horrors of cannibalism, were sadly borne off to the Flying Fish, 
which was a few miles distant. They were interred on one of the small 
sand islands in the vicinity, and all possible precautions adopted to savo 
their graves from being violated by the savages. 

This unprovoked massacre called for stern retribution ; and the pun- 
ishment was inflicted with certainly adequate severity. Lieutenant Cora. 
Wilkes was himself at this time on board the Flying Fish, and the brig 
Porpoise was also now in company. There were two towns, Sualib and 
Arro, situated upon opposite sides of the island. The party which was 
to attack and destroy these, consisted of seventy officers and men, and 
was placed under the orders of Lieutenant Commandant Ringgold. The 
party in the boats, intended to cut oft' escape from the island and to co- 
operate with the former part}', was led by Lieutenant Com. Wilkes. 

The first party landed without opposition on the south-east point of 
the island, destoyed the plantations in their course, and crossing over the 
high land, came in sight of Sualib, situated on the southern shore. Here 
it was found that the natives were mostly assembled with the intention 
of defending themselves by all means possible to them; and their prep- 
arations and position were not to be despised, even by disciplined troops. 
They evideHtly expected some punishment for the bloody deed, and had 
retreated to their stronghold. The village was surrounded entirely by a 
strong stockade of cocoa-nut trees, placed a few feet apart, and filled be- 
tween with exceedingly close and substantial wicker-work. On the 
outside of this was a wide ditch, fifled with water; and on the inside a 
dry ditch, in which the defenders were quite safely intrenched, while 
they shot through the loopholes in the palisade. The savages were very 
confident in the impregnability of their fortress, for they received the 
advancing Americans with shouts and expressions of defiance. They 
possessed quite a number of muskets, as well as their ordinary weapons. 
Almost the entire population were within the inclosure, and the women 
and children were as defiant and active in defence as the men. Knowing 
that an assault must be attended with some loss, even though conducted 
against undisciplined troops, the commander wisely attacked from such a 
distance as his means would permit. A sharp contest of about fifteen 
minutes was maintained, during which a chief and six of the savages 



1840.] NAVAL HISTORY. 47 

were killed, and the houses within were fired by a rocket. The natives, 
convinced of the superiority of their assailants, and terrified at a confla- 
gration among their bamboo huts, which they could not extinguish, began 
to escape through a gate, leading toward the sea, in the utmost conster- 
nation and confusion. They were allowed to retreat without further 
attack. A few of the Americans were wounded, but only one severely. 
The town was entirely consumed. 

The party now marched northward across the island to cooperate with 
the boat party against Arro. The latter reached Arro first, and without 
resistance set fire to and destroyed it. While these operations were going 
on, Lieutenant Emmons chased five canoes, containing about forty native 
warriors. When overtaken they ofiered fight and made a resolute resist- 
ance. But four of them were finally captured, the other escaping. The 
next day the whole force from the vessels assembled on a hill, and received 
a large part of the population of the island, who came to sue for pardon 
in the most beseeching and abject manner, thus acknowledging, according 
to their-own form and custom, that they were conquered, and were justly- 
punished for their murder of the oflicers. 

On this part of his conduct. Lieutenant Com. Wilkes, in his narrative, 
makes the following remarks, which are entitled to careful and candid 
consideration: "The punishment inflicted on the natives was no doubt 
severe: but I cannot view it as unmerited, and the extent to which it was 
carried was neither dictated by cruelty nor revenge. I thought that 
they had been long enough allowed to kill and eat with impunity, every 
defenceless white that fell into their hands, either by accident or misfor- 
tune, and that it was quite time, as their intercourse with our countrymen 
on their adventurous voyages was becoming more frequent, to make the 
latter more secure. I desired to teach the savages that it was not weakness 
or fear that had thus far stayed our hands; I was aware, too, that they 
had ridiculed and misunderstood the lenity, with which they had hereto- 
fore been treated by both the French and English men-of-war." 

On the 11th of August, the expedition left the Fejee Islands, on its 
way to the Sandwich Islands, where it now became necessary to seek the 
supplies, which had been left by the store-ship Relief, the crew having 
been already on short allowance for some time. The vessels pursued 
separate courses, in order that more islands might be examined on the 
way, and the existence of some doubtful ones be determined. In October 
the vessels were again reunited at Honolulu, island of Oahu. As the 
time for which the crews had enlisted was nearly expired, and the expe- 
dition in order to accomplish all its objects must be absent from home 
longer than was originally intended, it became necessary to enter into 
new arrangements with the men. The most of them re-entered the 
service, and the places of the few who preferred returning home, were 
supplied by natives, under the sanction of the governor. 

The year now drawing to its close, it was deemed useless to undertake 
the exploration of the north-west coast of America, which was a part of 
the service ordered, until the ensuing spring. We therefore find the 
vessels employed during the winter in surveys of various groups of islands, 
of importance as lying in the track of the whalers, as far south as the 
Society Islands, and westward to the Kingsmill Group; while the 



48 NAVAL HISTORY. [1841. 

commander with the Vincenues and accompanied by the scientific corps 
made extensive tours around and through the Sandwich Islands. 

These latter islands deserved special notice at the hands of an Ameri- 
can expedition, because they constitute the most natural and valuable 
stopping place for American shipping in the Pacific, and because a moral 
bond unites them most happily with the Western Republic, as the origin 
of a philanthropy and a Christian benevolence, whence have arisen, by 
the blessing of God, their incipient civilization, their recognized national 
irmependence, and their wondrous religious development. In prosecuting 
these researches. Lieutenant Com. Wilkes, with a party of officers and 
men, accomplished an ascent of the noted volcanic mountain, Mauna Loa, 
on the island of Hawaii. On the very summit of this noble mountain, 
at an altitude of upward of thirteen thousand feet, an observatory station 
was established especially with reference to the motions of the pendulum, 
and amid the barrenness, the snow storms, and the various discomforts 
of such a height, and unusual fatigues incident to a rarefied atmosphere, 
a series of observations was continued through three weeks. But all 
these toils were amply compensated for, in the sublimity of the prospects 
enjoyed, and by an opportunity of examining the most grand and 
wonderful volcanic craters in the world. 

The Porpoise having returned in March, arid been subjected to neces- 
sary repairs, sailed, in company with the Vincennes, from the harbor of 
Honolulu, on the 5th of April, 1841. In twenty-two days these ves- 
sels were oft" the bar at the mouth of the Columbia river ; but the con- 
dition of the bar at the time induced Lieutenant Com. Wilkes to proceed 
directly to the north, to attend to contemplated surveys in the waters 
adjoining the southern part of Vancouver's Island. These surveying 
duties were very thoroughly performed. Two expeditions were also fitted 
out for the interior; one of which crossed over to the Columbia river, 
and visited the stations of the Hudson's Bay Company at Astoria and 
Vancouver, and the other penetrated through the country, to a point 
higher up on the Columbia. These tours have added much to the knowl- 
edge of a portion of the extensive territory of Oregon. 

In the midst of these occupations at the north, the commander was 
recalled to the Columbia river by the news of the unfortunate loss of the 
Peacock, whose course, until its abrupt termination, we must now trace. 
On the 2d of December, 1840, accompanied by the tender Flying Fish, 
she left Oahu. Her cruise extended through several groups lying to the 
Bouth and west of the Sandwich Islands. Besides searching for uncer- 
tain and detached islands, she visited the Samoan Islands, Bowditch 
Island, EUice's and Kingsmill Group, and by this circuitous route again 
reaching Oahu about the middle of June, 1841, she touched for supplies 
and bore away for Columbia river. On this cruise she sailed over nine- 
teen thousand miles of ocean. At one of the Samoan Islands, Lieut. 
Com. Hudson made a demand for the surrender of a native who had 
murdered a white man. In violation of the regulations assented to dur- 
ing- a former visit of the expedition, the chiefs refused to give him up, and 
at the same time sent insulting messages to the Americans, and bid defi- 
ance to their military power. Hence it became necessary to give another 
of those painful lessons, which had already been repeated twice at other 



1841.J NAVAL HISTORY. 49 

islands. Lieut. Com. Hudson brought the broadside of the Peacock to 
bear upon the hind, to cover the party making an attack in the boats. 
After all their bravado no natives were to be found, and the party 
having landed, burned their towns without opposition. The usual in- 
formation respecting the condition and disposition of the natives was 
gathered, the prospects for commerce were observed, and surveys calculated 
to be of service to mariners were made. 

At Drummond's Island, one of the Kingsmill Gi-oup, a serious diffi- 
culty arose with the treacherous natives, which led again to the exercise 
of military force, and in this case to the loss of life. A large party, 
under Lieut. Com. Hudson himself, was on shore for purposes of curiosity. 
The natives sought to separate and entice the men in different directions. 
They also pilfered loose articles about the persons of the visitors, and 
finally made actual hostile demonstrations. Wishing to avoid a collision, 
Lieut. Com. Hudson called the men together and took to his boats. It was 
now found that one man was missing. Supposing that he had been en- 
ticed away, and would be brought back for the purpose of receiving a liberal 
ransom, Lieut. Com. Hudson returned to his ship. The next day nothing 
could be learned respecting the missing seaman, and otters of ransom, were 
not regarded. As these islanders were more fei'ocious and less hospitable 
than any previously visited, it was now concluded that the man had been 
treacherously murdered. It was determined, therefore, to make a strong 
demonstration, so as either to ransom him if alive, or failing in this, to 
inflict a severe punishment. Having waited another day, and not a canoe 
from this part of the island coming near the ship, Lieut. Com. Hudson 
ordered the tender to a position, where she could cover the landing of the 
attacking party. This consisted of eighty men in seven boats, under 
the command of Lieutenant Walker. 

The savages, to the number of five hundred and upward, fearlessly 
awaited their approach on the beach, brandishing their weapons, and 
showing a detei'mination to stand their ground. A parley, with a re- 
newed offer of ransom, was unavailing. A few shots were then fired, 
bringing down some of the chiefs, and a rocket was discharged into the 
crowd. The latter weapon caused some temporary confusion, but ihey 
soon rallied and showed a determination to offer a serious resistance, 
being evidently naturally warlike, and also over confident in their nnm- 
bers. The order was therefore given for a general discharge of musketry. 
This produced the desired efi'ect, for they retreated, though somewhat 
reluctantly, and left the beach open to the landing of the troops. The 
council-house and town were soon reduced to ashes, and the party re- 
embarked without any loss. Twelve of the natives were killed, and 
about three hundred houses burnt, with all the property in them, which 
the inhabitants, over sanguine of victory, had not removed. 

Lieut. Com. Hudson, finding that all the objects of his cruise could 
not be accomplished in the time at his disposal, was unable to proceed 
further to the westward, as he had intended, but was obliged to shape 
his course toward the coast of Oregon, in order to cooperate in the sur- 
veys of that region. On the 18th of July he attempted the difficult 
task of entering the Columbia river. The mouth of this great river on 
the western slope of our continent, is noted for the difficulties it presents 



50 ' NAVAL HISTORY. [1841. 

to the navigator. The distance between tlae headlands is several miles, 
making it well-nigh impossible to indicate any exact bearings; an exten- 
sive bar stretches across the entrance, on which the mighty swell of the 
Pacific is constantly breaking, and over which tides and cross-tides rush 
with unusual strength and velocity ; and at the time the Peacock en- 
deavored to enter, there were no pilots worthy of the name. Lieut. 
Com. HTulson was furnished with the best sailing directions which could 
be obtained, and himself undei-took to pilot his vessel in. Steering for 
the point where the water appeared smooth, the ship proceeded for a few 
minutes, when she struck on the bar. Every eftbrt was directly made 
to work her off, but the sea kept driving her farther on. The wind now- 
rose, and the tide began to ebb, thus producing a sea, in which no boat 
could live, and which threatened soon to thump the ship to pieces on the 
bar. It became necessary to work the punaps, the vessel beginning to 
leak badly. During the night the sea made complete breaches over her, 
keeping her deck constantly flooded. In the morning, however, it went 
down somewhat, so as to admit of hoisting out the boats, which now 
began to carr)^ the crew, and a few of the valuables ashore. They made 
two trips during the morning, and lauded all but Lieut. Cora. Hudson 
and Lieut. Walker and some thirty men. By noon the sea rose again, 
so as to render it impossible for the boats to reach the ship. In making 
this attempt one of them was turned over end for end, and the crew 
rescued only through the nearness of the other boats. Perceiving this, 
Lieut. Com. Hudson made signal for the boats to return to the shore. 

The ship was now a thorough wreck ; her masts cut away, the water 
up to her berth-deck, and the sea beating upon the helpless hull with 
blows that told of a speedy ruin. At five o'clock in the afternoon the 
officers in charge of the boats were able to. get them alongside the ship, 
when Lieut. Com. Hudson and his remaining companions were borno 
joyfully to the shore. In the morning no more could be seen of the 
Peacock, which had survived so many perils amid polar ice-fields and 
tropical reefs. The crew, of course, were landed in a very destitute con- 
dition. They moved up to Astoria and encamped, where the stores for 
the squadron had been deposited in advance, which furnished them with 
food; while, through the kindness of the agent of the Hudson's Bay 
Company, they wore provided with clothing. 

The loss of so important a vessel necessarily compelled some changes 
in plans. An American brig, at the time in th ■. river, was purchased on 
favorable terms, and taken into the service under the name of the Oregon. 
This accommodated a portion of the crew of the Peacock, while the rest 
were distributed among the other ves.sels. The Vincennes was sent to 
San Francisco, to survey that harbor, and the river Sacramento. A 
party was also dispatched over land, to proceed down the same river and 
rejoin at San Francisco. Lieutenant Com. Wilkes transferred his flag to 
the Porpoise, which, with the Oregon, engaged in the survey of the 
Columbia as far as navigable. This survey being accomplished, the 
vessels were again reunited in the spacious harbor of San R-ancisco. In 
the mean time the boats of the Vincennes had sailed up the Sacramento, 
visiting points, which have since, through the new element introduced 
into the history of California, become so familiar to American ears. The 



1842.] NAVAL HISTORY. 51 

party wliich undertook the land journey from Oregon, was conducted 
with great skill and courage by Lieutenant Emmons, over a difficult 
route and through hostile tribes of Indians. This hostility was particu- 
larly unfortunate, as it obliged the party to keep more closely together, 
thus preventing those excursions which would have furnished a more 
extensive knowledge of the country and of the condition and numbers 
of the inhabitants. 

On the 21st of November the expedition sailed from San Francisco. 
Its route now led it again across the Pacific ; the 1 jss of the Peacock 
requiring a stop at the Sandwich Islands for supplies. The instructions 
allowed a visit to Japan; but so much time had already elapsed, it was 
found impossible to accomplish it. On leaving Oahu, the Porpoise and 
Oregon sailed in the direction of the coast of Japan, with the purpose 
of examining such islands and reefs as lay in their course. The Vin- 
cennes and the tender kept to the southward of the course of the former 
vessels, still in the general westerly direction, passing through the Ladrones- 
Islands, and giving particular attention to the settlement of some doubtful 
positions of islands and reefs. The existence of several of these was 
found to be imaginary. On the 12th of January, 1842, the latter vessels 
anchored in the bay of Manilla. Thence they sailed into and through 
the Sooloo Sea, making a careful and accurate survey of it, which was 
greatly needed, the existing charts being incorrect in the extreme. 
Another good service was accomplished here in securing a treaty between 
the Sultan of Sooloo and the United States, by which the former engaged 
to afford full protection to the commercial vessels of the latter, and all 
privileges granted to the most favored nations, and also to afford aid to 
the shipwrecked vessels of any nations. This arrangement was effected 
with a noted piratical power. 

Lieut. Com. Ringgold in the Porpoise, and Lieut. Com. Carr in the- 
Oregon, kept to the westward and northward, after leaving the Sandwich 
Islands; but meeting with unfavorable weather, they could not pi'oceed 
to the coast of Japan, and therefore turned to the south, and ran on 
nearly the same track as the Vincennes. In February the squadron 
again met at Singapore, where at the same time were the United States 
frigate Constellation, and sloop of war Boston. The Flying Fish was 
sold at Singapore; it not being deemed safe to undertake the voyage 
home in her. On the 26th of February the remaining vessels got 
under way for their homewjrd voyage; the Porpoise and the Oregoa 
sailing in company and stopping at St. Helena and Rio de Janeiro; 
the Vincennes alone making short visits at Cape Town and St. Helenac 
During the month of June, 1842, they all arrived at New York, and 
safely terminated their long cruise. 

The results of the expedition, as constituting valuable additions to the 
departments of knowledge embraced in its plan and purpose, cannot be 
questioned. The opportunity for discovery of a biilliant character is not 
in this age furnished to any navigator. But in the grand work for the 
substantial improvement of the condition of mankind in the way of pro-* 
moting peaceful intercourse and in rendering such intercourse more safe 
and expeditious, the American exploring squad i-on has done good service. 
The character of the results in a commercial aspect may be gathered 



52 NAVAL HISTORY. [1842. 

somewhat from the imperfect account which has been given; while a just 
idea of the amount of information collected in relation to the various 
countries visited, can only be gained by a perusal of the full and official 
account. 

The scientific corps were on all occasions diligent and enthusiastic, and 
their labors are attested by the large collections which they have made, 
illustrating the natural sciences, and by the observations and examinations 
on all subjects intrusted to them, which they have patiently accomplished. 

Toward the close of the year 1842, a tragical and most unhappy occur- 
rence took place on board a vessel of the American navy, which, for various 
reasons, produced at the time a profound sensation throughout the coun- 
try. The United States brig Somers, Commander Mackenzie, sailed from 
New York on the 1.3th of September, with dispatches for the squadron 
on the coast of Africa. She left Cape Mesurado on the 10th of Novem- 
ber, on her homeward voyage, standing across to the Leeward Islands, so 
as to touch at St. Thomas on her return to our own coast. Some days 
before reaching the latter island, on the 26th of November, a midshipman 
was arrested on the charge of intended mutiny. The events which led 
to this arrest were affirmed to be as follows: On the preceding evening, 
this midshipman disclosed to the purser's steward, the particular of a plan 
"which he had formed for seizing the brig, and converting her into a 
pirate. He conveyed to the mind of his confidant the conviction of his 
seriousness respecting such plan, exacted from him an oath of secrecy, and 
informed him that about twenty of the crew were already engaged in the 
project. The conversation was continued for some time, and during it, 
a seaman took part in it, evincing that he was one of those already en- 
listed in the enterprise. The next day the particulars of this plot were 
conveyed by the purser's steward to the first lieutenant, and by him were 
laid before Commander Mackenzie. 

After his arrest the suspected midshipman was ironed, and placed on 
the quarter-deck, under charge of an officer. The officers assert that 
symptoms of discontent and insubordination now began to be manifested 
by the crew — that they collected in knots upon the deck, engaging in 
conversation, casting frequent glances toward the quarter-deck, and sepa- 
rating on the approach of an officer. On the 27th, the main-top-gallant- 
mast was carried away, in executing an order. This injury to the vessel 
the commander supposed to have been done by design on the part of the 
mutineers, that in the confusion they might eftect the rescue of their 
leader, and carry out their plan of seizing the vessel. No such attempt, 
however, was made. The new mast was rigged, and all the damage was 
repaired before night. This done, the suspicions of the officers as to the 
fidelity of the crew being greatly increased, two more arrests were made. 
The persons arres.ted were the boatswain's mate, doing duty as boatswain 
in the brig, and the seaman mentioned before as an accomplice. These 
men were also heavily ironed, and placed upon the quarter-deck. 

The officers were now all armed, and were required to be increasingly 
vigilant in watching the prisoners and the crew. Still were the officers 
entirely uncertain as to the extent of the mutiny and the general dispo- 
sition of the men. They were of opinion that others were at large who 
should be confined; but as the vessel was destitute of marines, they 



1842.] NAVAL HISTORY. ' 53 

considered themselves inadequate to the guarding of many prisoners. 
The 28th and 29th passed with no very marked events, the men doino- 
duty, though, as the officers thought, with manifest rehictance and dis- 
content on the part of some. Yet there was no overt act of mutiny, and 
no attempt at a rescue of the prisoners. Certain papers were found in 
the possession of the midshipman at the time of his arrest, which con- 
tained in Greek characters tlie names of individuals who, he had pre- 
tended, were certain to join the enterprise; of some who were doubtful 
and likely to take part or acquiesce in it; and of others to be retained 
as necessary, even against their wills. Several of these were constantly 
watched, and some of them were supposed to evince suspicious signs. 
Attempts at communication between the prisoners, who were still kept 
under the eye of officers on the quarter-deck, and the crew, were also 
observed. The commander therefore felt constrained, on the 30th, to 
make more arrests, so that the prisoners now amounted to seven. 

In the mean time, early on the morning of the 30th, the commander 
addressed a communication to his officers, asking for their opinion as to 
the disposition to be made of the three men first arrested, whom he con- 
sidered the main conspirators. A council of officers therefore assembled 
in the wardroom, composed of the only lieutenant on board, the surgeon, 
the purser, the acting master who was a passed-midshipraan, and three 
midshipmen. Three younger acting midshipmen were not included in 
the council, but during its sitting, had charge of the vessel, in company 
with the commander. This council examined several witnesses, whose 
statements and opinions were duly recorded. Their deliberations did not 
take the form of a trial, and cannot in any just sense be called one, as 
the accused did not appear before them, and were granted no opportunity 
for explanation or defence. Indeed, the object of their investigation and 
consultation was to advise their commander, whether in their Opinion the 
necessity of the case was so extreme and urgent, as to require the exer- 
cise of that arbitrary power, which, without question, must at times be 
within the discretion of military authority. That this necessity did now 
exist was the unanimous opinion of these officers; and this opinion they 
reported to their commander on the morning of December 1st. They 
considered that in the state of the crew, as they viewed it, it was impos- 
sible, with any good hope of security to the rightful authority of the 
commander, or to the lives of those loyal to the flag, to carry the vessel 
into the nearest port of the United States. They also deemed it an im- 
portant naval principle, that a ship of war should not apply for assistance 
in a case like the present to any foreign friendly power. In these views 
Commander Mackenzie coincided. He decided that it was not his duty 
to run for the nearest friendly port in order to obtain assistance. His 
desire to reach even the island of St. Thomas, without resorting to the 
stern law of necessity, was caused by the hope that he might there find 
the United States ship Vandalia, and not by the purpose to solicit the 
interference of the government of that island. But in his opinion this 
alternative was not now left; the safety of the vessel requiring the im- 
mediate execution of the three prominent mutineers. 

On the morning of December 1st, it was accordingly announced to 
them, that they must prepare for a speedy death. Somewhat more than 



54 NAVAL HISTORY. [1842. 

an hour elapsed, during which the unhappy men were occupied in con- 
versation with the officers, and in communicating their last wishes and 
messages to their friends. The condemned midshipman and the searaau 
first named as an accomplice, admitted their guilt, and the justice of their 
punishment; but the boatswain's mate died protesting his innocence. 
The midshipman also declared that the latter was innocent. All hands 
were called to witness punishment, and the men were stationed at th-e 
difterent points where the condemned were to be executed, while officers 
stood over them with drawn cutlasses, having orders to cut down any 
who faltered in inflicting the dreadful penalty. When every thing was 
adjusted, and partings had been exchanged, the commander gave the 
order, the signal gun was fired, the national colors were hoisted, and 
simultaneously the three condemned men were swinging at the yard-arm. 
The commander then addressed the men, after which they separated and 
returned to their respective duties. After night had set in, the solemn 
funeral service was read by the light of the battle-lanterns, and tlie 
bodies were committed to the sea. It need hardly be said, that this ex- 
treme act of discipline had its designed etfect. No symptoms of a mu- 
tinous or disaffected spirit were manifested by the crew, and the brig, 
after touching at St. Thomas, arrived at New York on the 14th of 
December. 

As soon as the facts of this most painful case became known, it pro- 
duced a deep excitement in the public mind. A court of inquiry, con- 
sisting of three senior captains, was convened in the case on the 28th of 
December, and sat until the 19th of January. The finding of this court 
was a complete justification of Commander Mackenzie and his oflicers. 
Notwithstanding this decision, the former was arrested, and a court- 
martial was appointed for his trial, to meet at New York on the 1st of 
February, 18'43. This court sat for forty days, and finally acquitted him. 
An attempt was also made, by the fiiends of the boatswain's mate, to 
obtain in the civil court, an indictment for murder against the commander 
of the vessel. The judge, before whom the question was argued, charged 
the grand jury, that it was not competent for a civil tribunal to take up 
the case while it was pending before a naval court. This was while the 
court of inquiry was investigating the affair. It remains to be stated 
that several moi-e arrests, from among the crew, were made after the 
vessel reached New York, but no charges were ever preferred against 
any of the prisoners, and they were all dismissed from custody without 
trial. 



1842.] NAVAL HISTORY. 



CHAPTER V. 

Capture of Jlonterey by Com. Jones — Relations of United States and Mexico — Commencernent 
of hostilities — Cora. Sloat's movements in the Pacitic Com. Stockton assumes the commatid 
of Pacific squadron — Co-operates with Major Fremont— Enters Los Angelos— Los Angelos 
retaken by the Mexicans — Com. Stockton forms a junction with Gen. Keirney — Battles of San 
Gabriel and Mesa — Recapture of Los Angelos — Com. SUubrick assumes the command of the 
squadron — Guaymas, La Paz, and San Jose taken — Capture of Mazatlan — Attair at Muleje 
and Guaymas — First defence of San Jose by Lieut. Heywood — Various movements on the 
coast — Second siege and defence of San Jose — Garrison relieved by Commander Du Pout — 
Quiet restored in Lower California. 

In the year 1842, Commodore Thomas Ap. C. Jones was in command 
of the United Slates naval force in the Pacific. During the lattter part 
of the summer of that year, he was lying in the port of Callao, with the 
flag-ship United States 44, the sloop of war Cyane 20, the sloop of war 
Dale 16, and the schooner Shark 12. While at this place, he received 
a Mexican newspaper containing a manifesto from the Mexican govern- 
ment, respecting the relations between that country and the United 
State.', from which he considered it probable that war existed between the 
two nations. In an American newspaper he also found a report to the 
effect that Great Britain had made purchase of California from Mexico. 
There is no doubt that for some time before the Mexican war, secret nego- 
tiations had been carried on by British agents, having in view the cession 
of some portion of Mexican territory to the latter power; Mexico being, 
it should be remembered, largely in debt to British citizens. But 
nothing of this kind was ever really effected. At the same time that 
Com. Jones had his suspicions awakened by these rumors of cession, there 
happened to be an English squadron of some force concentrated in this 
part of the Pacific; and the Dublin frigate, the flag-ship of Rear Admiral 
Thomas, had looked into Callao, and, after a short stay, had suddenly 
departed in the night, without giving any intimation of her destination, 
but bound, it was supposed, to the coast of North America. 

The American commodore had evidently been put upon the alert by 
his own government; the question of the annexation of Texas, then in 
agitation, having given unusual interest and prominence to Mexican 
affairs, and, in the event of a war between the two countries, it being 
mainifestly the policy of the United States to seize upon California. It 
seemed quite likely to Com. Jones, that the British admiral was now in- 
tending to take formal possession of the territory, supposed to have been 
ceded, and he deemed it his duty to forestall or resist him in any such 
plan. He consequently sailed suddenly from Callao on the 7th of Sep- 
tember with the entire squadron, standing out to the westward. The 
Shark was soon sent back to Callao, and, shortly after, the Dale was 
detached with orders to proceed to Panama and land a special messenger 
■with dispatches for the home government. Previously, however, to the 
separation of the latter vessel from the squadron, a council of officei-s, 
consisting of Captain Armstrong of the United States, Commander 
Stribling of the Cyane, and Commander Dorniu of the Dale, was called 



56 NAVAL HISTORY. [1842. 

by Com. Jones, for the purpose of giving their advice as to the course 
proper to bo pursued. 

Their decision on the main question proposed, was, that " in case the 
United States and Mexico ai'e at war, it would be our bounden duty to 
possess ourselves of every point and port in California, which we could 
take and defend without much embarrassment to our operations on the 
ocean," and that " we should consi<;ler the militaiy occupation of the 
Californias by any European power, but more particularly by our great 
commercial rival, England, and especially at this particular juncture, as 
a measure so decidedly hostile to the true interest of the United States, 
as not only to warrant our so doing, but to make it our duty to forestall 
the design of Admiral Thomas, if possible, by supplanting the Mexican 
flag by that of the United States, at Monterey, San Francisco, and any 
other tenable points within the territory said to have been recently ceded 
by secret ti-eaty to Great Britain." The United States and Cyane then 
proceeded to the northward, crowding all sail for the coast of Mexico. 
While on the way. Com. Jones, in writing to the secretary of the navy, 
after alluding to the fact of having received no communication since his 
sailing orders of nine months previous, says: "In all that I may do, I 
shall confine myself strictly to what I may suppose would be your views 
and orders, had you the means of communicating them to me." 

On the afternoon of October 19th, the two ships anchored in the 
harbor of Monterey. The Mexican flag floated over the town. There 
was no sign of British authority; so that the commodore was successful 
in being beforehand in respect to the admiral's supposed design. His 
suspicions were so far confirmed by what he heard and saw, however, 
that he concluded to summon the governor to surrender. The next 
morning the articles of capitulation were signed, the Mexican authorities 
meanwhile declaring themselves ignorant of the existence of any hostili- 
ties. No opposition being oftered, the capture was an easy one, and the 
American flag soon rose in the place of the Mexican, over a dilapidated 
fortification mounting eleven guns. A proclamation was also immediately 
issued by Com. Jones, designed to explain the purpose of the American 
commander in this capture, and to reconcile the inhabitants to the change 
of their allegiance. 

The next day Com, Jones discovered, through late Mexican newspapers ^ 
and commercial letters from Mazatlan, that the facts were by no means 
what he had supposed ; that there was no war, and that there was no 
evidence that the idea of cession to Great Britain was entertained by the 
Mexican government. He had, in fact, seized upon a province of a 
country, with which his own government was still at peace. He, there- 
fore, immediately completed the act of retrocession to the original author- 
ities, with all proper and customary marks of respect, and retired from 
before the place. 
[The following, to page 67, was dictated by Mr. Cooper in the summer of 1851.] 

This somewhat precipitate movement on the part of Commodore 
Jones compelled a change in the command, as a species of propitiatory 
offering to the Mexicans. He was recalled, and Commodore Sloat was 
sent out as his successor. No censure, however, was ever passed upon 
the former, for his very decided movement, and it is to be supposed, that 



1846.] NAVAL HISTORY. 57 

the vigilance of the officer was acceptable to the go\-ernment at home, 
rather than otherwise. In point of fact, there were several years during 
which the fate of California may be said to have been suspended in the 
political scales. Should Texas be annexed, as was the wish of her own 
people, though so strongly opposed by England and France, it was almost 
certain that a collision with Mexico must follow. The latter country had, 
unfortunately for the cause of peace, been guilty of many act° -^f aggies- 
sion to provoke hostilities, and there was only too much ground for the 
course of policy subsequently pursued by the American government. 
Errors and wrongs there were, no doubt, committed by both nations; but 
on the whole, there is much reason to think that the United States had 
the best of the argument, on purely national principles. 

Texas was independent dc facto, and she had become so by a marked 
breach of faith on the part of the centi-al government of Mexico. It 'is 
true that a belt of country, extending to the northward of the Rio Granlle, 
might be deemed fairly in dispute between the two nations: a state* of 
things that certainly gave to one party as iiiucli the right of possession 
as to the other. Whether the Nueces, or the Great River of the Nofth, 
was to be the dividing line, was a question for diplomacy to decide, unless 
an appeal should be made to arms, in which event, the debatable terri- 
tory would, as a matter of course, follow the ordinary contingencies of war. 
Such, a state of things, with two armies in close proximity, was not 
likely to continue long. Collisions might be hourly expected, aird, 
indeed, did soon occur, between small parties of the contending forces, 
until matters proceeded so far as to induce the Americans to open a fire 
upon the Mexicans, in the city of Matamoras, opposite to which town 
the former had constructed a fort. This led to an attempt to carry that 
work by r<apid siege, and the crossing of a force of several thousand men, 
under the orders of General Arapudia. It was while marching to the 
relief of Fort Brown, as this post was called, that the armies — that of the 
Mexicans, now under the orders of General Arista, and that of the Amei-- 
icans, under the command of Brevet Brigadier-general Taylor — firat 
came fairly in contact, at a place called Palo Alto; the disparity in for(!b 
was greatly in favor of the Mexicans, and the result of this brilliant cannon- 
ading showed the great superiority of the American arms in any thing 
like a serious conflict. The more brilliant affair of Resaca de la Palmii, 
succeeded the next day, and war was shoi tly afterward formally declared 
by both nations, the proclamation of the United States being dated the 
12th of May, 1846, and that of Mexico, the 23d of the same month. 

A declaration of war between countries such as Mexico and the United 
States, very naturally created strong apprehensions of what might be 
the effect on the widely spread commerce of the latter, under a loose and 
rapacious i^ystora of privateering. It was naturally expected that Mexico 
would have recourse to such an expedient to injure her adversary, whose 
shipping whitened the ocean, while there was scarcely a Mexican flag to 
be met with, unless it might be at the peak of some insignificant coaster. 
It is understood that an early attempt was made by agents of the Mexican 
government, to dispose of commissions for privateers among the seamen 
of the islands; but the three principal governments having colonies in 
and about the gulf, had the wisdom and good faith not to encourage such 



58 NAVAL HISTORY. [1846, 

a system of rapacious plundering. The authorities of Cuba in particular, 
took very firm ground, and efFectuall}^ prevented any thing like a hostile 
armament from quitting its jurisdiction, A solitary vessel, at a later 
day, was captured in the Mediterranean, but was restored on the demand 
of the American government. In a word, it may as well be said here, 
that a war which menaced so many maritime disasters to the commerce 
of the country, did not, in fact, produce one. And the trade of the 
United States continued to pursue its customary objects, with nearly as 
much confidence and security, as in a time of profound peace. The 
large and well-manned liners which then carried on most of the trade 
between New York and Europe, took in a heavy gun or two, and relied 
for the means of defence on this slight armament, and the number of 
passengers that were passing to and fro. 

One of the first measures of the government was to add several small 
cruisers purchased from among the fast-sailing schooners of the difierent 
ports, temporarily to the service. These, equipped with a single heavy 
gun, and additional armament, placed under the command of old lieuten- 
ants, were sent to join the squadron of Commodore Conner in the gulf. 
Other vessels were added to that officer's force, which was soon ample for 
any of the probable circumstances of a maritime war against such an 
enemy. Vera Cruz was closely w-atched, and the American flag was 
soon seen hovering around all the little ports in the gulf, that were then 
under the control of the enemy. 

On the othei- side of the continent, a different state of things existed. 
The trade was so much scattered, and, as a wdiole, so well prepai-ed to 
take care of itself, tnore especially in the whalers, that little aj>prehension 
seems to have been felt, at any time, on the subject of privateers. The 
delicacy of the relations between Mexico and certain European states, 
in connection with the two Californias, principally occupied the attention 
of Commodore Sloat, the officer then in command. It was understood 
to be the policy of England to effect, through her merchants, in the 
event of hostilities between this country and Mexico, such a transfer of 
tkese two provinces, as would give them a claim of a very embarrassing 
nature, in the shape of security for money lent, and to be lent. 

Commodore Sloat lay at Mazatlan, in the Savannah 44, in com- 
pany with different smaller vessels, which came and went as circumstances 
required, closely watching the course of events in the Gulf of Mexico. 
He had a line of active communication across the continent, by means 
of different mercantile houses, and on the 7th of June, he received through 
that channel, the very important information of the result of the battles 
of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Although without particular 
instructions to meet the especial emergency, war not having then been 
proclaimed by either party, this officer came to a prompt and wise deter- 
nination. " If," said he, " the Mexicans have been the assailants in these 
jattles, it is ray duty to employ the naval force under my orders, in dl- 
,'erting their efforts, and in retaliating for these hostilities; and if on the 
ither hand, the hostile movement has come from our own side, the duty 
)f every officer, ill separate command, to sustain such a movement, is 
10 obvious as to require no vindication." He sailed on the 8th for 
he northward, leaving the Warren at Mazatlan, to wait for further 



1846.] NAVAL HISTORY. 59 

intelligence. The Sa%annah reached Monterey on the 2d of July. Hero 
the Commodore found the Cyane and Levant, and ascertained that the 
Portsmouth was at San Francisco. The place was summoned on the 
morning of the 7th, but the officer in command referred to the com- 
manding general of California for the answer. 

The previous arrangements having been made, a party of two hundred 
and fifty seamen and marines landed under the immediate command 
of Capt. Wm, Mervine. This force raised the standard of the United 
States, under a salute of twenty-one guns. At the same time a procla- 
mation announcing the transfer of flag was published in both Spanish 
and English. Orders were sent to Commander Montgomery of the 
Portsmouth, to take possession also of the Bay of San Francisco, which 
was done on the 9th. Commodore Sloat took the other necessary 
measures to secure his bloodless conquest, and to preserve order in the 
country. 

On the afternoon of the 15th of July, the Congress arrived from 
Valparaiso, by way of the Sandwich Islands, and Commodore Stockton 
reported himself for duty to his senior officer. On the IGth, Sir George 
F. Seymour, British admiral commanding in the Pacific, ari'ived in the 
Collingwood 80; the civilities of the port were tendered to him by 
Commodore Sloat, in the usual manner; he was supplied with some 
spare spars, and on the 23d, sailed for the SaiuUvich Islands. 

The appearance of the English commander-in-chief, his pacific relations 
■with the Americans, and his early departure, had the effect to destroy all 
hope among the Californiaus, of assistance from that quarter. 

On the 29th of July, Commodore Sloat shifted his pennant to the 
Levant, and sailed for Panama, on his way to the United States. The 
squadron, of course, was left under the command of Commodore 
Stockton. Previously to the departure of Commodore Sloat, however, 
a body of about one hundred and fifty riflemen was sent down to San 
Diego, under Captain Fremont.* This movement was made to intercept 
the communications of General Castro, the Mexican commander-in-chief, 
with the more southern provinces. The Congress was ordered to sail on 
the 30th for San Pedro, to take possession there. There happened to be at 
the time within the limits of California, an expedition of a scientific charac- 
ter, under the orders of an officer of the topographical engineers, of great 
activity and merit, of the name of Fremont, Avho had long been employed 
on the duty of exploring the whole region between the Mississippi and 
the Pacific Ocean, more especially as connected with the communication 
with the territory of Oregon. This gentleman conceived him>^elf injured 
by some of the proceedings of the authorities of California, and in 
danger of being captured, if not destroyed, by the policy of the Mexi- 
cans, through their apprehensions of what might be his real objects. 
Singularly enough, the two parties would seem to have been apprehensive 
of- each other's intentions, and both had recourse to the strong hand, 
in order to secure themselves against the hostility of their supposed 

* Tliis detachment was carried down to San Diego in the Cyane, Commander Du Pont; which 
vessel arrived liefore the place on the 2iith of July. The American flag was hoisted by Lieut. 
Rowan of the Cyane, on the afternoon of the same day, at the Presidio, five miles distant from 
the port ; and tlie place was immediately garrisoned by the marine guard. A portion of the 
troops uader Captain Fremont was lauded that day, and the rest the next morning. — Ei>. 



60 NAVAL HISTORY. [lS4fi 



adversaries. Fortunately, for the American officer, there was a sufficient 
number of trappers, hunters and other adventui-ers, who had crossed from 
the States, to be met with on the plains of the upper country, and as 
these men were as loyal to their flag as they were daring and reckless, 
their enterprising and energetic leader soon collected enough of them to 
render himself formidable in a region where revolutions had often been 
etiected by the merest handfuls of men. 

San Francisco was taken possession of on the 9th day of July, by 
Commander Montgomery of the Portsmouth, and the whole of that very 
noble and im^yortant bay became, at once, substantially subject to the 
American flag. By the 11th, the flag was flying at Suter's fort on the 
Sacianiento, at Bodega on the coast, at Sonoma, and at Yerba Buena, 
or what is commonly called San Francisco. Such was the state of things, 
when Commodoi'c Stockton in the Congress 44, appeared off Monterey. 
This officer had left home on the 25th of October, 1845; he had touched 
at Rio and the usual ports on the western coast of South America, and 
at Honolulu, whence, having there heard of the commencement of the 
♦war between the United States and Mexico, he had hastened with the 
ardor that belonged to his character, to participate in the events then in 
progress along the coast between Cape St. Lucas and the frontiers of 
Oregon. As Commodore Sloat had effected the principal object of his 
remaining out longer than his health rendered expedient, a transfer of 
command took place, and Conimodore Stockton, hoisting the blue pen- 
nant, in place of the red, now took charge of the whole of the American 
force then supposed to be in the Pacific. The government, however, 
aware of the great importance of securing the command of those distant 
seas, and jealous, perhaps, of the views of France and England, neither 
of which countries has ever been particularly diffident in appropriating 
to its own purposes territory of any part of the world that might be 
found convenient to possess, had given its attention to the increase of the 
squadron in that distant quarter of the world. The Independence 54, 
Captain Lavalette, and wearing the broad pennant of Commodore William 
B. Sbubrick, sailed from Boston with orders for the north-west coast, on 
the 29th of August, 1846. At the same time the Columbus 80, Cap- 
tain Wyman, and under the orders of Commodore Biddle, was on her 
way from China and Japan, with orders to touch at Lima for instructions 
as to her future course. This was assembling a very formidable force 
along the coast, and giving effectual security to the recent conquests, so' 
far as the inteiference of any European power might reasonably be an- 
ticipated. The Independence appeared off' Valparaiso on the 2d of De- 
cember, and while standing oti" and on, she made a large sail to the 
northward and westward, which, on being signaled, showed the number 
of the Columbus. The two ships went in that morning and anchored, 
when Commodore Biddle, after examining the instructions of his junior, 
decided to send the Independence to the coast of California direct, while 
lie proceeded in person in his own ship to Callao, in quest of his orders 
from home. The two vessels sailed shortly after, and the Independence 
reached her point of destination on the 22d of January, 1847, after the 
short run of forty days. Here, then, was another transfer in the naval 
command in this part of the Pacific, and Commodore Shubrick superseded 
Commodore Stockton by public proclamation. 



1846.] NAVAL HISTORY. 61 

The intervening time, however, between the day when Commodore 
Sloat lowered his pennant, and that on which Commodore Stockton imi- 
tated his example, had been one of great activity and decision on the 
part of the vessels of the navy. Finding no enetny to contend with on 
his own element, and every way dis})Osed to assist the views of the gov- 
ernment at home, without shi'inking from responsibility. Commodore 
Stockton had determined to extend and secure ''the conquests made by 
his predecessor, by means of expeditions inland, principally conducted hy 
the officers and people of the shipping. 

It is due both to Commodore Sloat who took possession of Monterey 
iu person, and to Captain Montgomery in the Portsmouth, who took 
possession of San Francisco, to say that both these officers seem to have 
executed their delicate duties with great decision, prudence and humanity. 
Their foice was too great to permit resistance, it is true, and there was 
the certainty of its being able to maintain the new authorities within 
reasonable distance of the coast. But the elements of discord existed in 
the interior. Califoi'nia had long been subject to Avhat might be termed 
domestic revolutions of its own, and it was no unusual thing for its gov- 
ernment to be temporarily changed by the rising of some local military 
adventurer. The struggle between Capt. Fremont at the north, and 
Gen. Castro, the Mexican who took upon himself to resist what he chose 
to consider an invasion, had prepared the way for the events that suc- 
ceeded. On assuming the command. Commodore Stockton did not lose 
a moment in putting himself in relations with this active officer, and in 
projecting an expedition into the interior that should at once bring the 
capital of the province under the control of the tlag. 

Although California was very thinly peopled, it possessed a population 
singularly well adapted to the emergencies of the moment. The man 
was almost idfentitied with his horse, and the latter, an exceedingly active 
and hardy animal, was capable of making long marches in a day. As 
the distances Avere great, this species of force would obviously become 
very formidable, when well conducted and amply supplied. Although 
the Americans had certainly a party in the country, it was small, and 
confined to those principally who dwelt near the great ports. The abor- 
tive movement of Commodore Jones naturally made even these [>ei'sons 
cautious, and it was not difficult, under all the circumstances of the case, 
for Gq^yernor Pico, the Chief of the state, to rally a force inland that, 
possessing rapidity of movement and a perfect knowledge of the country, 
might render itself very formidable to the dispersed parties of the Amer- 
icans. The political capital of the state was at Los Angelos, which is 
less than thirty miles from the sea, and near the southern extiemity of 
the state. The local legislature being in session at the moment of the 
invasion, it was in the power of the Mexican authorities, to concentrate 
their efforts and to make a rally for at least the command of the interior. 

So important did it seem to all parties to secure this point, and to 
look down any thing like opposition in that part of the country, that, 
even before Commodore Sloat left the station, preparations were made 
to effect this object. Captain Fremont had come in with his party, and 
a battalion of volunteers was formed, consisting principally of trappers, 
hunters, and other persons well suited for the service that was about to 



62 NAVAL HISTORY. [1846. 



be required of them. Its numbei's were about one hundred and sixty 
men, and it was regularly received into the service of the United States 
as a vohmteer coips. 

When Commodore Sloat left the coast of California for Panama in 
the Levant, Commodore Stockton found himself at the head of a squad- 
ron, consisting of the Congress and Savannah frigates, and the sloops 
Portsmouth, Cyane and Warren, together with the store-ship Erie. It 
was thought necessary to keep the Portsmouth still at San P'rancisco; the 
Wai'ren was yet lying at Mazatlan, and the Erie was at the Sandwich 
Islands, leaving the Savannah at Monterey for its protection as the base 
of all the operations in that region. 

Commodore Stockton sailed in the Congress on the 1st of August, 
bound for San Pedro, a. small port of difficult entrance for a large vessel, 
nearly abreast of the ca])ital of the state. As the ship proceeded south, 
a landing was made at Santa Barbara, where the flag was shifted and a 
small force was left in possession. This was in eftect occupying every 
available |)ort between Lower California and the northern boundary of 
the upper state. The Congress arrived off San Pedro on the Gth of 
August; the Cyane had previously reached San Diego, a port still further 
south, where the battalion of Major Fremont had landed, principally with 
the object of obtaining horses, a service not easily eft'ected, as the enemy 
had early taken precautions against the movement. A force had been 
organized on board the frigate to form a small brigade on shore, and 
instant preparations wei'e made for landing. At this point the Commo- 
dore received a communication from General Castro, who claimed to be 
authorized to enter into negotiations with him; but this step, being ac- 
companied with the preliminary demand that no further movement 
should be made until these negotiations were tei'minated, had no results. 
It was so obviously the policy of the Mexicans to gain time, that little 
Leed was given to the representations of their agents. The party on 
shore was not ready to proceed until the 1 1th of August, when it marched 
to the northward, or in the direction of the capital. On the afternoon 
of that very day, intelligence was brought the Americans, that the Mex- 
icans had buried their guns, and that all the functionaries of the govern- 
ment had retired inland, or, as it was supposed, toward Sonora. On the 
13th, the Commodore made a junction with the battalion of Major 
Fremont, and the whole force entered Los Angelos without opposition, 
in the course of that day. 

Commodore Stockton now determined to organize a civil government 
for the entire state, and to administer justice in its name. At the head 
of this government he placed Major Fremont. Having effected these 
arrangements, he returned to the coast on the 2d of September, re-em- 
barked on the 3d, and sailed on the 5th, touching at Santa Barbara, to 
take oflf the small party left theie; the ship proceeded to Monterey, where 
every thing was found tranquil, though rumors were in circulation of an 
intended rising among the Indians at the north. The Savannah was 
immediately sent up the coast, where she was soon joined by the Congress 
oflf San Francisco. Here it was ascertained that the rumors were false, and 
that the whole northern region of the country was tranquil. About the 
close of the month, however a courier arrived from Captain Gillespie of 



1846.] NAVAL HISTORY. 63 

the marines, who had been left in command at Los Angelos, biins^ing the 
important intelligence of a fresh rising at that point, and of his being 
besieged in the government house. The Savannah, Captain Mervine, was 
immediately dispatched to San Pedro, for the purpose of aftbiding suc- 
cor to the besieged party ; steps were also taken to form a junction with 
the corps of Major Fremont who was up at Sacramento at the time. 
Every effort was made to engage volunteers, and a transport was chartered 
to convey them to the scene of action. On the 12th of October, Major 
Fremont reached San Francisco, and immediately embarked on board 
the transport with his little coi'ps. His point of destination was Santa 
Barbara, where he was directed to procure as many horses as possible. 
The Congress sailed in company with the ti'ansport, but they separated 
in a fog. Luckily a merchant vessel from Monterey, bound to the north- 
ward, was fallen in with by the fi-igate, and dispatches were received from 
Lieutenant Maddox, in command at Monterey, biinging the important 
intelligence that the place was threatened with an assault, and asking 
assistance. The frigate ran into the bay, landed a party of fifty men, 
and some ordnance, and immediately proceedea on. On arriving off San 
Pedro, the Congress joined the Savannah, on board of which ship was 
Captain Gillespie and his whole party; that officer having evacuated his 
position in the government house at Los Angelos under a capitulation 
entered into with General Flores, Previously to this measure, however, 
, an unsuccessful attempt was made by Captain Mervine to relieve him. 
A strong party of seamen and marines had been landed, and a march 
was commenced upon the capital. Unfortunately no provision had been 
made of any artillery, and on encountering the enemy at a distance of 
some twelve miles from San Pedro, a smart skirmish took place between 
the hostile forces. The Mexicans had the advantage of a field-piece, 
which they appear to have used with great discretion and spirit. When- 
ever a charge was made it was carried off by the active horses of the 
mounted men, reopening upon its assailants as soon as a new and favor- 
able position was gained. 

The great disadvantage under which he was acting, and the loss of 
several valuable men, induced Captain Mervine to fall back upon San 
Pedro, and wait for the Commodore. A new landing was made at the 
latter point, as soon as the Congress arrived ; a force of about 1800 men 
under General Flores, having been collected outside. Finding the road- 
stead of San Pedro too open, and too much exposed to the prevalent 
gales of the season, although it took him farther from his great point of 
attack, the Commodore was induced to carry the Congress round to San 
Diego, where was an excellent harbor for such vessels as could enter it. 
Nothing of the draught of the Congress,, however, had ever been known 
to cross the bar. Every thing was embai'ked, therefore, and the ship 
proceeded to the southward. On arriving off the harbor of San Diego, 
Commodore Stockton received a report from the officer left in command, 
that this place too was besieged by the enemy ; that the stock of pro- 
visions was running low ; and tliat he required a reinforcement. This 
officer was of opinion that the frigate could enter the bay. On making 
the attempt, however, the ship struck, and she was compelled to return 
to the anchorage outside. The next day, a prize to the Warren, the 



64 NAVAL HISTORY. [1846. 

"Malek Adhel," arrived from Monterey with dispatches from Colonel 
Fremont, who, ascertaining the impossibility of procuring horses at the 
southward, had returned to the base of operations, and was preparing to 
march tlience, with all his force, to form a junction with the Commodore, 
on his way into the interior. 

It was now necessary to collect beeves as well as horses, and the Sa- 
vannah was dispatched to Monterey to further the preparations in that 
quarter. The Congress had proceeded, also, to San Pedro, to carry out 
the necessary arrangements, but returned as soon as possible to San 
Diego. So great v.'as the anxiety of the Commodore for the situation 
of the corps of Lieutenant-colonel Fremont, that meeting with a calm on 
his way south, he sent in a boat to San Diego, a distance of forty miles, 
with a communication directed to that officer. On reaching the port it 
was deemed an object of so great importance to carry the ship within 
the bar, that a second attempt was made to cross it. This time she suc- 
ceeded, but she grounded when within the bay. , It was found necessary 
to prepare spars for shoring her up, and at the moment while her people 
were thus occupied, the Mexicans made an attack upon the town. Not- 
withstanding the necessity, as it might be, of fighting with one hand, 
and having a care for the ship with the other, the duty went on with the 
greatest activity and method. As soon as a sufficient force could be 
landed, the enemy was repelled by a charge made under the orders of 
Lieutenant Minor of the navy, and Captain Gillespie of the marines. 

Finding it necessaiy to recruit his horses, and to make harness, sad- 
dles, bridles, &c., the delay was improved in the construction of a fort. 
Runners were now sent out to ascertain the position of the enemy, who 
was discovered encamped at San Bernardo, distant about thirty miles. 
Two expeditions were immediately ordered to be got ready. The one 
under Captain Gillespie to surprise the enemy, in their camp, and the 
other under Captain Heasley of the volunteer corps, who was sent to the 
southward in quest of beeves and horses. The latter eftected his object, 
returning with five hundred head of cattle, and nearly one hundred and 
fifty horses and mules. Before Captain Gillespie was ready to march, 
however, the Commodore received a dispatch from Brigadier-general 
Kearney of the U. S. Army, wdio had effected the passage of the moun- 
tains, at the head of a hundred dragoons, and now appeared in Cali- 
fornia, to take the command of any portion of the army that might 
have reached there. 

The direction of Captain Gillespie's movement was immediately 
changed, and that officer was ordered to make a junction, as soon as 
possible, with this new reinforcement. This was on the 6th of Decem- 
ber; the same evening the Commodore was notified that an attack had 
been made by General Kearney upon a strong detachment of the 
enemy, in their camp at San Pasqual, and it would seem one that was 
unsuccessful. The following morning, this information was in part cor- 
roborated; such an engagement having actually taken place, under 
circumstances very favorable to the enemy, whose horses were opposed 
to the broken-down animals of the American detachment. The Amer- 
icans must have lost near forty men in killed and wounded in this aftkii". 
Among the latter was General Kearney himself. This officer had taken 



1847.] NAVAL HISTORY. 65 

post on an eminence, and where be was able to maintain himself until 
relieved. 

Commodore Stockton at first determined to move with his whole 
force, to effect a junction with the drag-oons; but learning the emergency 
of the case, and that the enemy was not as strong as had been reported, 
the plan was changed to sending a quicker moving detachment, em- 
bracing only a portion of the force on shore. Rather more than two 
hundred men marched that night under the orders of Lieutenant Gray. 
This party etfected its object, and General Kearney and his whole party 
entered the works at San Diego, a few hours later. An arrangement 
was now made between the Commodore and the General, by which the 
direction of the military details was to be assumed by the latter oflicer, 
while the former of course retained his authority, as the officer in com- 
mand of the squadron, whether employed afloat or on shore. This 
delicate arrangement led to some subsequent misunderstandings between 
the two commanders, though tJieir duty would seem to have been carried 
on with perfect accord and zeal so long as an enemy appeared before 
them. It would seem that General Kearney had arrived under the im- 
pression that he was to be civil governor of the newly conquered tei'ri- 
tory; while Commodore Stockton was not disposed to yield his authority 
so long as it was found necessary to employ any material portion of the 
crews of the shipping ashore. At a later day this controversy led to 
some unpleasant collisions, more especially between General Kearney 
and Lieutenant-colonel Fremont, his subordinate in the line of the 
army; but as they belong rather to the general history of the country 
than to a work of the character of this, we shall not dwell on their 
consequences here. 

On the 29th of December, the party of Commodore Stockton was 
ready to march. Altogether it mustered a force of about six hundred 
men. Owing to the mountainous character of Ihe country, and the great 
watchfulness rendered necessary by the activity of the enemy, he did not 
reach the San Gabriel, until the evening of the 7th of January. Here 
the Mexicaus had erected batteries, and prepared to make a stand. The 
following day the Americans crossed the river to the north bank, where 
they found a foi'ce of five hundred men and four pieces of artillery 
ready to recei\e them. The guns were placed in very favorable positions, 
while the remainder of the Mexicans, altogether cavalry, weie so posted 
as to command each flank of their assailants. Reaching the margin of 
the stream, the Commodore dismounted, and led the troops over in per- 
son, under a smart fire from the enemy's artillery. A chaige wp the 
hill, on the opposite bank, was next made, and the position carried, 
driving the enemy and his guns before it. At this moment the enemy 
made an attempt to cut oft" the pack-horses and beeves, in the rear, but 
the steadiness of the guard I'epulsed them. As soon as the American 
guns were in position on the heights, a smart cannonading commenced, 
on both sides, but soon terminated by forcing the enemy from the field. 
The result of this handsome day's work, was the obtaining of the com- 
plete command of the Mexican position, where the Americans encamped 
for the night. The next day, the party of Commodore Stockton ad- 
vanced upon the town, where it was again met by General Flores on the 



66 NAVAL HISTORY, [1847. 

plains of Mesa. A hot cannonading succeeded, and the Mexicans made 

several attempts to chai'ge, but could never be biought within fifty yards 
of the American lines. After a final efi^'ort, General Flores abandoned 
the defence, and moved oft' in the direction of Sonora, accompanied by 
most of his principal officers. 

As the enemy had been greatly encouraged by the rough treatment 
he had given the detachment of dragoons, under General Kearney, and 
by the success of his expedient in the repulse of the party -under Captain 
Mervine, the result of these two very handsome aftairs, produced such a 
reaction as at once to look down eveiy thing like resistance. 

Shortly after re-entering Los Angelos, Commodore Stockton was 
joined by Colonel Fremont, increasing his force to near one thousand 
men. A new negotiation was now entered into with Don Andres Pico, 
the Califoi'nian governor, by which the Mexicans stipulated to lay down 
their aruas, and yield quiet possession of the province. Throughout the 
whole of the foregoing movements, Commodore Stockton exhibited an 
activity, energy, and spirit that would have done no discredit to the 
indefatigable Preble. He and his ship seem to have been everywhere, 
and whatever may be the decision of military etiquette as between the 
rival competitors for the command of this successful expedition against 
the enemy's capital, there can be no misapprehension on one subject, and 
that is, that the Commodore was in the thickest of the fray, and ani- 
mated his men, not only by his presence but by a very brilliant personal 
example. According to every usage with which we are acquainted, sea- 
ofiicers can never come under the command of soldiers. The nautical 
profession requires a peculiar and specific knowledge, and seamen can 
only be used, even on shore, with a due regard to their habits and pre- 
judices. There was, however, a peculiar claim on the part of the navy 
to most of the credit of the military movements in front of Los Angelos. 
The seamen and marines composed the gi eater portion of the American 
force, and the officers of the service held the most important subordinate 
commands in the detachment. Doubtless an officer as accomplishetl and 
as brave as General Kearney, must have been of great assistance on such 
an occasion; but we confess we see no admitted rule of service short of 
positive oi'ders from home, that, under the peculiar circumstances of the 
war in that province, at that particular moment, could have justified 
Commodore Stockton in carrying on the sort of expedition in which he 
was then engaged, without retaining his full authority over all who were 
engaged in it, and who belonged to the navy proper. 

Commodore Stockton virtually assumed the command near the close 
of July, and the whole of the succeedino; five months was on his part, a 
scene of as great exertion, and as bold an assumption of responsibility, 
as ever yet characterized the service of any man imder the flag. We 
conceive the whole of these movements, marked as they were by so much 
decision and enterprise, to have been highly creditable to the American 
arms, and particularly so to that branch of the service of which we are 
writing. 

Shortly after, hearing of the arrival of his senior officer at Monterey, 
Commodore Stockton struck his pennant on board the Congress, and 
finding a party about to cross the Rocky Mountains, returned by that 



1847.] NAVAL HISTORY. 67 

route to the United States. The force that Commodore Shubrick found 
under his orders on assuming the command of the Pacific squadron, 
consisted of his own ship, the Independence 54 ; the Congress 44, to 
the command of which vessel he assigned Captain Lavalette, late in the 
Independence; the Savannah 44, Portsmouth 20, Warren 20, Cyane 
20, Preble 16, and Dale 16. 

A few days after his own arrival, the Lexington, store-ship, came in 
from the Atlantic coast; this vessel brought a company of regular artil- 
lery. As soon as the latter landed, all the seamen were withdrawn from 
the fort, and the town was left iu the care of the artillery and marines. 
Similar arrangements were made at San Francisco, where, however, the 
Warren was left, the whole force being under the orders of Commander 
Hull. The season of the year was still too early to carry ships into 
the Gulf of California, but preparations were now made to move the 
whole of the available force afloat, in that direction as soon as it would 
be prudent to do so. The Congress was kept cruising at the southward, 
and indeed most of the active vessels were moving up and down the 
coast, looking out for privateers, and rendering such services as were in 
their power. Toward the close of September, Captain Lavalette went 
into the Gulf with his own ship and the Portsmouth, and on the 16th 
of October the Independence sailed in company with the Cyane to join 
him oft" Cape San Lucas, This junction was made on the 29th, when 
Captain Lavalette reported the result of his successful attempt made on 
the town of Guaymas, nearly at the head of the Gulf. The place had 
a considerable force, and works of respectable extent, but Captain 
Lavalette took his frigate, and the sloop of war within fair range of the 
eilemy's guns, planting two pieces of heavy artillery also, on a couple of 
islands that were favorably situated for such a purpose. After a cannon- 
ading of three quarters of an hour, which commenced at sunrise ih& 
next morning, a white flag was hoisted from the shore. It appeared 
that the enemy had evacuated the place, which indeed was now aban- 
doned by all of the inhabitants. After some negotiation. Captain. 
Lavalette caused all the batteries on the water-front of the town to be- 
blown up. On the evening of the same day, it being reported by the 
officer in command on shore, that General Campujano was marching: 
upon the place with a very considerable force, including artillery and 
lancers, parties were thrown on shore in readiness to meet him ; the 
enemy, however, abandoned his intention of attack, ascertaining now 
that the troops of Campujano, some three or four hundred regulars with 
the same number of militia and Indians, were rapidly deserting and 
disbanding themselves. Captain Lavalette now left Commander Mont- 
gomery in the Portsmouth to look out for the port of Guaymas, and ran 
over to Loreto to meet the Dale, which vessel he expected to find at that 
place, on his way to join Commodore Shubrick oft" San Lucas. 
[This is the condusion of the portion dictated by Mr. Cooper.] 
Before proceeding in the regular order of time, it here becomes neces- 
sary to go back to the year 1846, in order to notice some actions in 
•which the sloop of war Cyane, Commander Du Pont, was creditably 
concerned. This vessel, having in the month of July lauded the detach- 
ment of Major Fremont at San Diego, remained for a time on the coast 



68 NAVAL HISTORY. [1846. 

of California, wlien she was sent down on blockading duty to the main 
coast of Mexico. She arrived at San Bias on the 2d of September. 
Here a party was sent on shore under the command of Lieut. Rowan, 
which spiked all the guns that could be foimd at the place, amounting 
to twenty-four in all, and varying in calibre from twelves to thirty-twos. 
They were not all, however, in a serviceable condition. 

It was not the policy of the commander-in-chief at this time to take 
permanent possession of any points on this distant part of the coast, as 
the force under his orders was insufficient for such a purpose, at least 
while Upper California required such constant attention. The duty of 
the ships was therefore confined to watching the poits, and enforcing the 
blockade as effieiently as possible. More active employment was occasion- 
aUy found, in hindering the military preparations of the Mexicans, and in 
destroying such means of defence, as it was within the reach and capacity 
of a small na\'al force successfully to attack. The Cyane, therefore, kept 
to the northward, touching at Mazatlan, where the Warren was engaged 
in blockading, thence running into the Gulf of California, making the 
ports of La Paz and Muleje. From the latter place it was found that a 
Mexican gun-boat had lately sailed, going, it was supposed, across to 
Guaymas. Thither the Cyane followed, and anchored in the inner harbor 
on the 6th of October. A battalion of troops of the line, Avith field 
artillery, was posted in the town, and, in "connection with the national 
guard, formed a body of five hundred soldiers. Commander Du Pont 
immediately sent a communication to the Mexican commander, informing 
him of the declaration of a general blockade, and of the lenient terms 
which had been granted to other places, on condition of not taking an 
active part in hostilities, and demanding the sm-render of the two gun- 
boats, which were lying in the harbor. A surrender of the gun-boats was 
refused, when the American commander sent a message, that he would be 
obliged to take them by foi'ce. From most commendable moti\'es of hu- 
manity, he expi-essed his desire not to be compelled to fire upon the town, 
yet he informed the Mexican commander that resistance would oblige him 
to retaliate in this manner. In the mean time, and before an attack could 
be made upon them, the Mexicans set fire to the gun-boats, and they were 
entii'ely consumed. A Mexican brig, however, was left unharmed, under 
the idea that she was in too strong a position to be in danger of being cut 
out. Being a lawful prize, and, if left, likely to be of service to the en- 
emy in conveying military supplies, the American officer determined to 
cut her out. She was anchoi-ed in a cove, formed by a long pi'ojecting 
point of land. ^ She was hauled close in toward the houses, within pistol 
shot of them, with two sti-eets opening upon her, one of which led down 
from the barracks whei-e the troops were posted. These barracks were 
situated behind a mound of earth ; so that the Mexicans might with reason 
have supposed that the brig was too well protected to be liable to an atr 
tack. It would be necessary, should the brig be successfully carried, to 
tow her for some distance in front of this sti'ong position, before she could 
bear away fiom it. 

The Cyane was hauled in as close as possible to the town, for it was 
apparent, that, should the enemy be at aU bold and active, the brig could 
be carried and brought out by the boats, only under a well-dii'ected and 



•1846.] NAVAL HISTORY. 69 

spirited fire from the ship. The party sent in was embarked in the 
launch and one of the cutters, and was under the command of Lieut. G. 
W. Harrison, with acting Lieut. Higgins, and Midshipmen Lewis and 
Crabb. They rowed steadily in, and succeeded in boarding the brig, and 
in cutting her chain cable ; the ship, meanwhile, keeping up a heavy fire 
upon that part of the town where the troops were stationed. The brig 
being now in possession, and the Mexicans thus far oftering no resistance, 
Commander Du Pont, wishing to do as little injury to the town as ])ossi- 
ble, ordered the firing to cease. Immediately on this the enemy rushed 
forth from his lurking places, and opened a sharp fire with artillery and 
musketry upon the brig and the boats. This compelled a re])ly ; and the 
ship, brig and boats all poured in a fire upon the town, which forced the 
troops back to their cover. During this time the boats and the brig had 
so far changed their position that they now came within the range of the 
ships fire. This made a cessation of the firing again necessary; and, as 
before, the courage of the Mexicans revived, and their troops once more 
rallied to the attack. A company of Indians also had made out to get 
round the cove, and took up a position from which they added a cross-fii-e 
tx> the severity of the main attack. Though invoh'ing considerable haz- 
ard to those in the brig and boats, the American commander was again 
obliged to use the guns of the ship. In this instance the shells especially 
were thrown with great rapidity and precision, and producing consterna- 
tion by bursting, speedily silence<l the fire from the shore. In the mean 
time the brig had been set fire to by the captors ; yet she was brought 
out and towed into a cove near by, where she was entirely consumed. 
The coolness and gallantry of Lieut. Harrison and the officers and men 
with him, elicited high praise from the Commander of the Cyane. 

Leaving the Gulf the Cyane ran down to Mazatlan, where she relieved 
the Warren, and was employed for some time in watching this port, the 
most important then on the entire western coast of North Amei'ica. In 
consequence of the very close blockade which was maintained, the town 
was suffering somewhat from scarcity, and a traffic was attempted by 
means of small vessels running up the Gulf, in order to suppl)^ the place 
with flour. These vessels could keep near the shore, where from the 
nature of the coast a ship of war could not reach them. Landing their 
cargoes in the outer or old hai'bor, tliey could relieve the wants of the 
town. Large bodies of troops were also posted at Mazatlan, and with 
guns in battery, and with field artilleiy tliey could give efficient cover to 
the vessels as they ran well in along the coast. Such a traffic could only 
be broken up by attacks made in the boats of the ship ; and much active 
and arduous service was performed by the officers and men iii this man- 
ner. The parties in the boats succeeded on two occasions in cutting oft" four 
small vessels from the harbor, and forced them through the bieakei-s on 
to the beach, where they were deserted. On the second occasion, as the 
ship's boats were returning from their work, four boats, two of them 
launches, and having on board sixty soldiei-s, put out fV(im the harbor for 
the pui-pose of intercepting the men from the Cyane. The Cyane's boats 
on this occasion were her three smallest, and were undei- the command 
of Lieut. Hari-ison. The ship was not in a position to cover them. 
Notwithstanding the odds they gallantly formed in fine and bore down 



70 NAVAL HISTORY. [1847. 

upon the Mexicans. The encounter was sharp, the Mexicans for a time 
maintaining a vigorous fire ; but they finally broke their order of battle, 
ran their boats on shore, and fled to the cover of the bushes. On both 
these occasions the Mexicans were aided by artillery on the shore, whUe 
the guns of the Cyane could render no assistance to her parties in the 
boats. 

The Cyane was very efficient in making captures while occupied in 
blockade duty at various points. She took possession of twenty-tluee ves- 
sels of all kinds, brigs, brigantines, schooners and smaller craft, either 
Mexican, sailing under Mexican colore, or neutrals boldly running the 
blockade. 

In November, 1847, the Dale, Commander Selfridge, was sent to 
Guaymas to relieve Commander Montgomery, in the Poilsmouth ; the 
latter vessel joining the main squachon. 

The flag was now flying at La Paz, in the province of Lower Califor- 
nia, protected by a detachment of one hundred and ten men of the regi- 
ment of New York volunteers, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel 
Burton. In the month of November, it was also hoisted at San Jose, 
in the same province, while the flag-ship was off" that place. This was 
done at the earnest request of friendly citizens, in order that they might 
be protected from the insmTCctionists, who were now moving in that re- 
gion. Lieut. Charles He}-wood, with four passed midshipmen and twenty 
marines, was placed in command of this post. He was also furnished 
with a nine-pounder caiTonade, and some fire-anus to be loaned in an 
emergency to friendly Californians. He posted his force in an old mis- 
sion-house, situated on the higher portion of the to-\vn. 

On the 8th of November Com. Shubrick left San Jose and stood over 
to the coast of Mexico, with the Independence, the Congress, and the 
Cyane. His destination was Mazatlan, and his object was the capture of 
this important city and the diversion of its commercial revenues into the 
treasury of the United States. 

Mazatlan contained at that time about eleven thousand inhabitants, and 
was occupied by Colonel Telles, with a force of from nine hundred to 
twelve hundred regular troops. It has been knoAvn to yield three millions 
of dollars revenue to the Mexican government in one year. It was within 
easy reach of reinforcements from states which had contributed no quota 
to the war, and it was known there that its occupation by the squadron 
was contemplated. The following description of the occupation is taken 
from the accounts of competent eye-witnesses : 

" On tlie 10th of November, in the afternoon, the ships came in sight 
of the tov.'u. The position of each had been assigned and marked on a 
plan of the coast and harbor, furnished to the commanders. The wind, 
however, was moderate, and the commander-in-chief inquired if the ships 
could take their positions after dark, and being answered in the affinna- 
tive directed them to proceed. The Congress led oft' in fine style to 
that bend in the coast outside, knoAvn as the old harbor, where, the shore 
being low, she could command some of the avenues leading from the 
to^vn, and effectually cover the landing, should the surf permit that point 
to be selected. It was a hazardous anchorage, but an important position, 
and boldly taken. The flag-ship stood for another slight bend in the 



1847.] NAVAL HISTORY. /I 

peninsula on which Mazatlan is situated, and where a break in the 
coast-range exposes to view from the westward, the most important part 
of the town, and which she brought to bear immediately under her guns. 

" The Cyane kept <jn to get her station ' in the new harbor, her hght 
draft enabhng her to get sufficiently close to the bar for her eight-inch guns 
to reach the wharf, and cover the landing, should that point be selected. 
The Independence in her majestic might, just swinging round, showing 
her gun-deck tier of lights, and her stern almost in the rollers, presented 
a most imposing spectacle, a ship never having anchored there before. 
An English vessel of war was at anchor in the harbor, and the manner 
in which the ships took their positions, and invested the town, drew high 
encomiums from her commander and officers. 

"Early on the morning of the 11th, Mazatlan was summoned to 
surrender, Captain Lavalette, the second in command, bearing the com- 
munication from Commodore Shubrick. Colonel Telles, the military 
commandant, tore the summons up, with insolent threats. On the return 
of Captain La\'alette orders were issued for an immediate landing. The 
height of the surf forbade the attempt to be made outside, and the usual 
place of landing inside of the harbor, was designated. The boats of the 
Independence, Congress, and Erie, which ship, under the command of 
Lieut, Watson, had anchored in the offing a day or two previous, were 
joined on entering the harbor by those of the Cyane, and this ship had 
her broadside sprung, to cover the landing, if necessary. The boats en- 
tered the harbor in three lines, commanded by the officers of the respective 
ships, the whole under the direction of the commander-in-chief in person. 
A division of the Congress, under Lieutenant John T. Liviiigston, had 
charge of the artillery, five pieces, captured in Upper California, and 
mounted on board that ship. The many points advantageous for defence 
which presented themselves, the heights near the landing, the streets, and 
the houses with ten-aces, warned the assailants that no precaution should 
be neglected. The men were on shore in a twinkling, and the companies 
formed, while the artillery was landing. The whole force, about six hun- 
pred strong, then marched through the town to the Cuartel, situated on a 
mound, overlooking the surrounding country, on the walls of Avhich the 
American flag was hoisted, under a salute of twenty-one guns from the 
Independence. 

" Colonel Telles, with his whole force, had retreated on the approach of 
the Americans. No laurels were reaped, no blood was shed, but the cap- 
ture was important ; it brought home to the Mexican that his commercial 
emporium in the west had shared the fate of the one in the east, while 
the American flag waved over the national palace in liis caj)ital. Prompt 
measures were taken for the defence and holding of Mazatlan, and for its 
municipal government. Captain Lavalette was made governor, and a 
gan-isou of seamen and mai-ines established. A commission, consisting 
of Commander Du Pont, Lieutenant Chatard, Pui-ser Price, and Mr. 
Thomas Miller, an-anged with the municipal Junta the terms of occupa- 
tion. The ships moved into the harbor ; the custom-house was opened 
and organized, and a tariff" of duties, modified to suit the trade of the 
coast, was established. Mr. H. W. Greene, pui-ser of the Independence, 
appointed collectoi-s, under whose judicious management, assisted by Mr. 



^2 NAVAL HISTORY. [1847. 

Speeder^ purser of the Congi-ess, more than a quarter of a million of dollars 
of duties, was collected in five months." 

The precise and judicious arrangements for the captm-e of this import- 
ant point made by Com. Shubrick,, reflect great cjedit upon the capacity 
of that officer, and the efficiency and steadiness with which these arrange- 
ments were carried out so successfully, are indicative of the good qualities 
of the respective commanders, and of the officers and men under their 
orders. There is no doubt that the skill and ability manifested in the 
disposition of the forces, in connection with the uniform success of the 
American arms over every portion of the wide field of this war, led the 
Mexican commander to withdraw a body of troops, which might have 
given serious trouble to the invaders, and might not have left them the 
satisfaction of a bloodless victory. 

Commerce soon resumed its wonted activity, but trading with the inte- 
rior was interfered with by the troops of Colonel Telles, who stiU occupied 
a position a few miles from the city. Several attempts were made to open 
the communication with the country, but no general action was risked. 
On the 20th of November, tw^o parties, one on land, of ninety-four sailors 
under Lieut. Selden, and the other in boats, consisting of sixty-two men 
under Lieut. Rowan, were sent to dispei-se a body of the enemy posted 
about ten miles out. The attack was commenced at daylight, and was 
quite warmly resisted by the enemy ; but it was soon completely successful, 
the Mexicans breaking in confusion before the impetuous charge of the 
seamen, and throwing away their arms in their flight. The Americans lost 
one man killed, and three officers and seventeen men wounded ; the loss 
of the enemy being seven killed, and twenty-five or thirty wounded. 
These sorties drove the Mexicans further back, and left the roads more free. 
For some time a large gan-ison was maintained on shore, and until the 
close of the war, a strong naval force was at anchor in the bay. Strong 
redoubts were also constructed, and mounted on the land side of the 
town ; so that had the enemy made an attempt to regain possession of it, 
with any force at his command, he would, without doubt, have been 
promptly repulsed. In consequence of the large force required at Mazat- 
lan, and the necessity of sending reinforcements to Lower California, Com. 
Shubrick was imable to take possession of the other Mexican poits fai-ther 
to the south, as had been contemplated in his original plan. 

Events in the mean time occurring in Sonora and Lower California, 
recall our attention to those provinces. It has been stated that the Dale, 
Commander Selfridge, was ordered to Guaymas, province of Sonora, to 
retain possession of that port. On his way thither, this officer learned 
that insurrectionary movements were on foot at Muleje, on the eastern 
coast of Lower California. Troops and munitions of war were cairied from 
Mexico, across the gulf, to this place. When the Dale arrived there, it 
was found that the region was in possession of Mexican troops, to the 
number of one hundred and fifty or more, headed by a chief called 
Pineda. The broadside of the ship was sprang so as to command the 
shores of a creek, up which Lieut. Craven proceeded, with four boats and 
fifty men, to cut out a schooner. This was done without resistance, though 
large numbers of Mexicans were in sight. The next day, October 1st, 
the same officer, with the marines and fifty sailors, lauded on the right 



1847.] NAV^L HISTORY. '^3 

bank of tlie creek, and scoured tlie valley to the distance of nearly three 
miles. They were frequently assailed by the enemy in ambuscade, but 
they steadily advanced, driving the latter before them. At the same time, 
tlie battery of the ship kept up a fire of round shot and shell, which aided 
greatly in forcing the Mexicans back. They abandoned the village and 
retreated up the valley to a distance where, through fear of being led 
into an ambuscade, it was not thought prudent to follow them. The 
troops returned to the ship without the loss of a man, and with but two 
slightly wounded. We shall hear more of these Mexican forces hereafter. 
From this time for several months, Pineda was the active leader of a 
threatening insurrection in this province, which, without being successful 
against the American forces, inflicted great evils upon the peaceably dis- 
posed inhabitants. A small schooner was hired and placed under the 
command of Lieut. Craven, for the pm-pose of cruising in this part of the 
gulf, and preventing intercourse with the main shore of Mexico. 

The Dale aiTived at GuajTuas on the 8th of November, and relieved the 
Portsmouth from the duty of guarding that port. The enemy's forces in 
this vicinity had now increased to a considerable amount, being probably 
not less than a thousand men. Commander Selfridge had not men 
enough to ganison the town, so that the flag was kept flying on an island 
under the guns of his ship. The enemy sought in large force to gain a 
lodgment in the town, but the shot and shell from the ship rendered this 
position not very tenable. On the l7th of November, Commander 
Selfridge, supposing that there were none of the enemy in the immediate 
neighborhood, landed at the head of a party of sixty-five marines and 
seamen. They had not proceeded fai-, when they were assailed with a 
volley of musketry from a house. A ball ^vr)unded Commander Selfridge 
severely in the foot, obliging him to relinquish the command to Lieut. 
Smith, and to return to the ship. The latter ofiicer now found himself 
engaged with about three hundred of the enemy, who met him with a 
brisk fire and some good show of resistance. The fire of the little force 
of marines and seamen was, however, delivered with such rapidity and 
precision, that the enemy soon began to retreat precipitately. The fire 
from the ship was also opened, and began to be felt. The Mexicans were 
now in hopeless confusion, and evacuated the town in all possible haste ; 
but the American detachment was not sufficient to follow them up Avith 
effect. In this creditable action the Americans suffered no injury, with 
the exception of the wound of the commander; while the loss of the en- 
emy must have been not less than thirty killed and wounded. 

This check to the I^Iexicans was serviceable, as it was quite important 
that this place should be held at all hazards. 

It will now be in order to recur to the state of affairs in the province 
of Lower California. The Mexicans who had landed at Muleje, and 
whom Commander Selfridge had so gallantly driven toward the interior, 
passed through the country, exciting hostility to the American rule, and 
drawing the disaffected to their ranks. The majority of the people were 
without doubt friendly to the provisional government, established by the 
military power of the United States, and but comparatively few joined 
the standard of revolt. On the 16th of November a body of Mexicans 
attacked the post established at La Paz. This post was held, and most 



74 NAVAL HISTORY. 1847. 

handsomely defended by Lieutenant-colonel Burton, witli a detachment 
of tlie regiment of New York volunteers; but as this affair belongs 
properly to the history of army operations, it need not be described in 
this work. 

On the 19th of November, a large body of the enemy came within a 
league of the post established at San Jose, which, it will be remembered, 
was occupied by Lieut. Heywood, with four officers and twenty marines. 
He had also organized and armed about twenty volunteers. The position 
occupied consisted of two houses — the one an old mission-house, which 
had to be somewhat strengthened and repaired to make it defensible, and 
the other a pri\ate house, so closely adjoining, that it was necessary to oc- 
cupy it lest it might fall into the hands of the enemy. In the latter, 
Passed-midshipman McLanahan was stationed with twelve volunteers. At 
the mission, a nine-pounder was mounted, and loopholes left for musketry. 

An advance guard approached oij the morning of the 19th, and de- 
manded a suirender, which, of course, tvas refused. The main body took 
up a position on an eminence about a quarter of a mile distant. It 
consisted of one hundred and fifty mounted men, and commenced the 
attack late in the day by a fii-e from a six-pounder. This ceased at dark, 
having done but little damage. About ten o'clock at night, the whole 
body of the enemy commenced an attack upon the front and rear of both 
houses. Their fire was vigorous, but was returned as vigorously by the 
little gamson. Their cannon Avas posted in front of the main building, 
where it was replied to by the nine-pounder. The defence was so effect- 
ual, that the enemy were glad to cover themselves behind the neighboring 
buildings, and thus the combat was continued throughout the night ; and 
by morning, the enemy retired to their camp. The day passed quietly ; 
but as night closed in, the Mexicans were again in motion. They now 
concluded to undertake the capture of the mission-house by assault. This 
was a bold plan to be formed against so determined a garrison as they 
had found this one to be. In executing this movement, a strong party 
rushed up toward the front of the house, with the intention of forcing 
their way in and capturing the gun. But a destructive discharge of mus- 
ketry brought down their leader and several of their number, when they 
broke and tied. This repulse in front intimidated the party in the rear, 
who were approaching with laddei-s to scale the walls, and they were thus 
easily driven back. The next morning a whaling vessel came in sight 
and anchored off the town. The Mexicans probably took it for a ship of 
war, for the whole body soon moved off. They lost at least eight kiUed 
and more than that number wounded ; while of the garrison but one was 
seriously, and two slightly wounded. 

As soon as the rejwrt of these hostilities reached Com. Shubrick, he 
dispatched the store-ship Southampton to the aid of Lieut. Heywood. 
The Portsmouth followed as soon as possible, and the Cyane was also sent 
to La Paz, Avith aid and supplies to Lieut. Col. Burton. 

On the 12th of January, 1848, San Bias, a seaport town, situated to 
the south of Mazatlan, was captured by a small force under the orders of 
Lieut. Comd't Bailey, who was maintaining the blockade of the port with 
the Lexing-ton store-ship. The party landed imder Lieut. Chatard, and 
brought off two pieces of artillery from the fort, and a fine boat belonging 



1848.] NAVAL HISTORY. 75 

to the custom-liouse. No opposition was met with; still it wns not 
deemed ad\'isable to hoist the flag, as sufficient force could not be left on 
shore to defend it. 

Lieut Chatard also landed a small party at Manzanillo, and spiked 
three large guns. Mexico now had iiot a single gun mounted on this 
entire coast, except at Acapulco. 

In the province of Sonora, the enemy still continued to hover around 
Guaymas. A detachment having established itself at Cochori, on the 
coast about nine miles from Guaymas, Lieut. Yard, now commanding the 
Dale, determined to dislodge it. A party of seamen and marines was 
detailed from the ship for this purpose, and placed under the command 
of Lieut. Ci'aven. Having proceeded for four miles in boats, they landed 
and cautiously advanced, seeking to sm-prise the enemy. In this they were 
successful, having nearly surrounded the house where they wa-e posted, 
before being discovered. Some firing ensued, but the enemy soon yielded. 
A pai-t escaped, as the attack was made in the night ; but the connnander 
and six soldiers were taken prisonei-s, and five were left dead upon the 
field. The assailing party suffered no loss. 

In the early part of the year 1848, San Jose became again the centre 
of very active military operations. On the 2 2d of Januarj^, a small de- 
tachment of Lieut. Heywood's command, consisting of Passed-midshipmen 
Warley and Duncan, and six men, was captured on the beach by a large 
body of the enemy's cavalry. This was a serious loss to the little gam- 
son. The Southampton, having furnished all possible aid to Lieut. 
Heywood, was sent to La Paz, with orders for the Cyane to take her 
place at San Jose. This was a very opportune change ; but before it was 
fully effected, hostilities had recommenced around the devoted mission- 
house, though the Cyane an-ived in time to take part in them. The en- 
emy, despairing of carrying a post so well defended as La Paz, had con- 
centrated his forces, amounting to three or fom- hundred men, around the 
feebler position held at San Jose. The defence of this position rested with 
a garrison of twenty-seven marines, ten effective seamen, and about twenty 
California volunteers. The to^vO' was deserted by its inhabitants, and 
about fifty women and children sought protection in the imperfect fort, 
and were supported from its scanty supplies. 

In the latter part of January, the Mexicans appeared in force. On the 
4th of Febioiary they drew their lines quite closely around the fort, and 
fired upon all who showed themselves. On the 6th a sortie was made by 
Lieut. He}T\'ood with twenty-five men, which was successfid in dislodging 
a strong party posted at the lower end of the street. On the '/th another 
bold and successful sortie was made, attended, however, with the loss of 
one man. Notwithstanding these sorties, the enemy gradually hemmed 
the gan-ison in more closely. Their fonner experience had taught them 
not to risk an assault, and their pohcy now seemed to be to reduce the 
garrison by a regular investment and siege. By the 10th they had com- 
plete possession of the town. They occupied a church and other com- 
manding buildings within musket-shot, from which they kept up an almost 
incessant fire during the remainder of the siege. Thus protected, it was 
seldom that the besieged were able to find an opportunity to fire at them 
with effect. On the 11th the firing was continued with great vigor; and 



76 NAVAL HISTORY. [1848. 

during this day the garrison suffered the loss of Passed-midshipinan Mc- 
Lanahau, wlio was wounded in the neck, and survived but two hours. 

The morning of the 12th revealed a new source of annoyance. The 
enemy had erected a breastwork, from which they commanded the water- 
ing place of the garrison. But nothing daunted, the men went vigorously 
to work to dig for water within the post, and this against great difficul- 
ties, as they could not blast the rock through fear of drawing the fire of 
the enemy. On the 14th, the supply of water was running low, and still 
a continual fire was poured in upon the heroic band. But on this day 
relief came. In the afternoon the Cyane hove in sight, and soon came up 
and dropped her anchor off the town. The interest of the fight now 
turned" in this direction. Commander Du Pont of the Cyane, knowing 
that the Mexicans were in large force, and wisely judging that they inust 
have full possession of the space between the beach and the mission-house, 
deemed it too hazardous to attempt relieving his beleaguered comrades by 
night, unless in an emergency. To those on board the ship the night at- 
tack was unknown, as the report of small-arms could not reach that dis- 
tance, and Lieut. Heywood refrained from using artillery, lest he should 
alann his friends, and so induce them to land at night. 

But when the day dawned the boats of the Cyane were seen moving 
toward the shore. They contained one hundred and two officers and 
men, headed by Commander Du Pont. The enemy soon showed himself 
in full force in front, after the landing was effected, and the contest com- 
menced. As the Mexicans possessed the advantage of the covers along 
the road, they were able to keep up an annoying flank and rear fire upon 
the advancing Americans. Still the latter moved steadily on, driving their 
opponents back at every point, or giving them volleys of musketry to the 
right and left as occasion required. The Mexicans engaged with gi-eat 
vigor, and continued their fire thi'oughout with steadiness ; and it would 
also have been quite destructive had they not genei'ally fired too high. 
Step by step the ground was gained and pi'ogress achieved, as the com- 
pact little column pushed on with unconquerable bravery. It required the 
best exertions of the officers to restrjiin the impetuosity of the seamen, 
who were eager to come to closer quarters — a movement which would 
soon have lost them the advantages gained by their unity and steadiness 
of action. 

The progi'ess of the battle could be seen quite plainly from both the 
ship and the fort, and, with reason, excited great interest among the ob- 
ser\ers at both these points. Those in the ship were unable to render any 
assistance by means of their long guns, as it was impossible to separate 
friend fi'om foe. But the garrison could not curb their impatience, and 
soon sallied out to form a junction with their companions. A party of 
the enemy was still firing upon the fort, but the charge, led by Lieutenant 
Heywood, drove them from the street they occupied, and opened the way 
for the union of the two detachments. Just before this union was effected, 
the enemy made a final stand and sought by great exertions to maintain 
his ground. But it was all in vain, and the shout of victory was raised 
just as Lieut. Heywood joined the party of his welcome friends. It surely 
borders on the miraculous that this march was made under such a fire, 
and this victory gained by the Americans over treble theii' own number, 



1848.] NAVAL HISTORY. 77 

without the loss of a single life, and with only four slightly wounded. 
The loss of the enemy could not be ascertained with any exactness, but 
there were at least thirteen killed. They also lost in their long attack 
upon the post, at least fifteen killed, and many wounded. The casualties to 
Lieut. Heywood's command were three killed and four slightly wounded. 
The coolness, perseverance, and indomitable resolution displayed in this 
long defence against such superior numbers, cannot but draw upon the 
actors especial notice and renown, and place it among the many memora- 
ble achievements of this war.* 

The organization of the insun-ection was nearly broken up after this 
repulse. Though the chief, Pineda, with a considerable force, still re- 
mained in the vicinity, the presence of a ship of war operated as an 
effectual check upon any further attack. In the month of March, indeed, 
the Americans assumed the offensive, and by se\'eral sudden attacks, with 
comparatively small parties, drove the enemy further and further up the ■ 
country. On the night of the 15th of this month, a detachment from 
the ganison at La Paz, under the command of Captain Steele of the New 
York regiment, made a forced march and came imexpectedly upon the 
enemy's camp at San Antonio. The surprise was complete, and the con- 
flict short ; it ended in the discomfiture of the Mexicans, and the rescue 
of the Americans taken prisoners, as ah-eady mentioned, on the 2 2d of 
the pi'eceding January. 

Colonel Burton and Commander Du Pont kept up a system of short 
and rapid expeditions, in A-arious directions, wherever an enemy showed 
himself; so that by the close of April the forces of the Mexicans were 
wholly dispei-sed, their principal chiefs taken prisoners, and the province 
of Lower California rendered completely tranquil. On the 20th of April, 
a detachment of one hundred men from the volunteer regiment in Upper 
California arrived at San Jose, and Lieut. Heywood and his command 
returned to their proper quarters on shipboard. 

At Guaymas, where the Dale still remained, the officere and men were 
constantly occupied in maintaining the blockade, and in watching a lai-ge 
extent of coast in order to prevent the sending of military supplies or 
assistance across to Lower California. Their vigilance and occasional 
skirmishes kept the enemy at a distance, and reduced him to defensive 
operations. 

On the receipt of the information of a provisional suspension of hos- 
tilities on the part of the main army in Mexico, Commodore Shubrick 
entered into a similar aiTangement, and withdrew the garrison from Ma- 
zatlan, leaving a few men to guard the works until the establishment of a 
definitive treaty of peace. Until the close of the war, therefore, the duty 
of the naval force was confined to the maintenance of the positions ah-eady 
held. In July, 1848, Commodore Shubrick sailed for home with the 
Independence, by way of the Sandwich Islands, having been reheved 
in his command of the Pacific squadron by Com. Thos. Ap C. Jones, in 
the Ohio 74. 

• Waiile these pages are going to press, information has been received of the death of the 
gallant Heywood. He fell a victim to the yellow fever, contracted at Rio Janeiro, and died on 
board the steam-frigate Saranac, of which he was second in command. 



78 NAVAL HISTORY. 11846 



CHAPTER VI. 

Com. Conner on the east coast of Mexico — Blockade — Expedition against Tobasco and Alva- 
rado— Plan of attack on Vera Cruz — Minor towns taken — Loss of the Somers — Landing of 
the American army — Com. Perry relieves Com. Conner — Bombardment of Vera Cruz — 
Captore of Alvarado, Tuspan and Tobasco, and occupation of Mexican ports — Skirmishes- 
Services of marine corps — Gen. Quitman — Death of Major Twiggs. 

For the preservation of a more clear and convenient method, we have 
followed the naval operations on the west coast of Mexico from the com- 
mencement to the close of hostilities. In the same order we will now 
present an account of the services of this arm of the national power, ia 
the Gulf and on the east coast of Mexico. 

The navy found no enemy to contend with on its own element in this 
quarter; and was, therefore, principally occupied as an auxiliary to the army. 
Though its services were not brilliant, they were certainly indispensable. 

In July, 1845, the Secretary of the Navy wrote to Commodore Conner, 
commanding the home or Gulf squadron, that he must now consider Texas 
as a part of his country, to be defended as any other portion should be. 
and must hold his force in readiness for any contingency. The vessels of 
war embraced in his command at this time were, the frigate Potomac 44; 
sloops of war Falmouth 20, Saratoga 20, St. Mary's 20; brigs Somers 10, 
and Lawrence 10. The steamers Mississippi 10, and Princeton 9, sloop 
of war John Adams 20, and the brig Porpoise 10, were ordered to join 
his squadron without delay. 

During the movement of General Taylor's division to Corpus Christi, 
and thence on to the north of the Rio Grande, the smaller vessels of the 
squadron kept it company, and rendered some valuable services. When 
hostilities actually commenced, and the state of war was declared to exist, 
instructions were issued to Com. Conner to employ his command in the 
blockade of Mexican ports, so far as its force would admit of doing so 
effectually. The government required that the blockade should be actual 
and absolute, except against the vessels of war of neutral nations. These 
orders were issued on the 13th of May, 1846; and that they might be 
properly carried out, several additional vessels were attached to the squadron 
of Com. Conner. These were the frigate Cumberland 44, frigate Raritan 
44; and the brigs Perry and Truxton of 10 guns each. The sloop of 
war Albany 20, also joined during the year. 

On the 8th of May the firing of the artillery at the battle of Palo 
Alto was heard at Point Isabel, where the squadron lay. Major Munroe, 
commanding the post, and having under his care the supplies for the army, 
apprehensive of an attack by the enemy upon so important a point, 
requested of Commodore Conner a reinforcement to his troops from the 
squadron. This was promptly granted; and five hundred seamen and 



1846.] NAVAL HISTORY. -' '79 



marines, under Captain Gregory, of the Raritan, were landed and assigned 
thoir post behind the defences. But the victories of the 8th and 9th 
drove the Mexi«xns across the river, opened the communication between 
Fort Brown and Point Isabel, and left *he latter free from all danger. 

On the 1 8th of May a detachment of nearly two himdred marines and 
seamen, from the Cumberland and Potomac, under the orders of Captain 
Aulick, sailed up the Rio Grande in the boats of the ships, and effected a 
junction with a detachment of the army at Barita, on the right bank of 
the river, and about fifteen miles from its mouth. At this point they es- 
tablished a post without any opposition, and on the same day the army 
under General Taylor crossed the river and entered Matamoras. 

The vessels were now dispatched to their several stations to enforce the 
blockade of the poiis of Mexico on the Gulf as far south as Alvarado. 
The changes of the ships on the several stations were necessarily frequent, 
as, for a time, they were obliged to repair successively to Pensacola to 
replenish their supplies. The Somere was sent to Yucatan, in order to 
ascertain what course that government intended to pursue in the war be- 
tween the United States and Mexico. The honest neutrality of this prov- 
ince would require a less extent of coast to be guarded, and diminish the 
resources of Mexico for a prolonged contest. Munitions of war were 
introduced through this province into Mexico, so that the necessaiy neu- 
trality was not maintained. It became advisable, therefore, in the autuirm 
of this year, to send an expedition against Tobasco, through which city 
this commerce in the materials of wai- was carried on. The place is situ- 
ated on the river of the same name, about seventy-four miles from its 
mouth, and in a south-easterly direction from Vera Cruz. Its seaport 
called Froutera, is situated at the mouth of the river. 

Commodore Matthew C. Peny was appointed to conduct this expedi- 
tion. As the harbors of Mexico were inaccessible to most of the ships of 
war, in consequence of sand bars formed across their entrances, several 
small steamers and schooners had been purchased and sent to the scene 
of operations in the Gulf. Of these. Com. Peny took the steamer Vixen, 
and the schoonei-s Bonita, Reefer, and Nonata, besides the steamer Mc- 
Lane and the schooner Forward of the revenue service, as the most avail- 
able species of force with which to ascend the river. His own ship was 
the Mississippi, steamer, on board of which was a detachment of two hun- 
dred officers, seamen and marines, under command of Captain Forrest of 
the Cumberland. 

The expedition sailed on the 16th of October, and anived off the mouth 
of the Tobasco on the 23d. The Mississippi was left at the anchorage 
outside, while Com. PeiTy himself went on board of the Vixen. This 
small steamer then took in tow the Bonita and Forward, with the barges 
containing the detachment under Captain Fon-est, and o'ossing the bai 
began to ascend the river. The Nonata followed under sail ; the Reefer, 
Laving parted company in a gale, had not yet rejoined. 

The towTi of Frontera was taken possession of without resistance, with 
several vessels in port, and two steamers which were firing up, in the hope 
of escaping up stream. The largest of these steamers, the Petrita, was 
immediately taken into service; the detachment of Captain FoiTest em- 
barking in her, and the Nonata and Foi-ward, with the barges, beiug 



80 NAVAL HISTORY. [1846. 

attached to lier in order to be towed up the river. The Vixen then took 
the Bonita in tow, and the next morning the command again moved for- 
ward, in order to ireach Tobasco before additions could be made to its 
defences. The rapidity of the current and an imperfect knowledge of the 
channel of the river made their progress slow. The next morning they 
came abreast of a fort, which commanded the river at a very difficult 
j)oint, and from which they looked for opposition to their advance ; but 
they passed it unmolested, the men in charge fleeing at their approach. 
At noon Tobasco was reached. Several merchant-vessels were secured by 
the boats, and the squadron anchored in order of battle abreast of the 
town, within half-musket range. 

Captain Forrest went directly on shore with a flag, and a summons to 
the governor to surrender. This was answered Avith bravado, and an in- 
vitation sent back to the commander to fire as soon as he pleased. Com. 
Perry was extremely reluctant to destroy the town and to subject the in- 
habitants to the miseries of a bombardment, merely to gi'atify the inhuman 
pride of a man, who, safe himself, would not surrender, though incapable 
of making any eftectual resistance. It was necessary, however, to make 
some demonstration of his power, and he consequently directed the firing 
to commence from the guns of the Vixen alone, and these to be aimed at 
the flag-staff. At the third discharge the flag came down. Captain For- 
rest was now sent ashore again to inquire if they surrendered ; but he was 
informed that the flag was not struck, but only shot away. 

Captain Forrest now landed with his detachment at a point where they 
were under cover of the guns of the vessels. This movement drew from 
the enemy a fire of musketry, wh>3h was returned by the flotilla, and 
continued till evening. Not considering it safe for the land party to re- 
main on shore through the night, Com. Perry recalled them. The crews 
were continued at quarters throughout the night, but the firing from the 
flotilla was not resumed. Com. Perry, knowing that the governor disre- 
garded the wishes of the principal citizens in refusing to capitulate, now 
determined, from motives of humanity, to relinquish any plan of a more 
complete conquest, and retire from the place, satisfied with having broken 
up the obnoxious traffic in munitions of war. But in the morning the 
firing was recommenced from the town, and consequently it became neces- 
saiy to reply to it from the flotilla. A flag of truce now appeared, which 
was met by Captain Forrest, and through him conveyed to the Commo- 
dore a communication from the principal foreign merchants of the place, 
setting forth the facts that they were great sufferers by the bombardment, 
and that they would be ruined if it continued, and desiring the American 
commander to spare the town and avert such disastrous results. Com. 
Perry in his reply expressed his continued determination, formed the 
evening before, not to fire unless fired upon from the shore. He, therefore, 
ordered his prizes to move down the river, while the amied vessels pre- 
pared to follow. But one of the prizes grounded near the shore, when a 
large party of Mexicans collected in the houses and streets opposite to it 
and began to poiir into it a very severe fire. This of course made it neces- 
sary to attack the town again, in order to relieve the prize. The fire of 
the vessels soon silenced that on shore, and Lieut. Parker, in charge of the 
prize, defended himself with great gallantry, and succeeded in getting hifi 



1846.] NAVAL HISTORY. 81 

vessel off, with one man killed and two wounded. Lieut, diaries W. 
Morris, while conveying an order in a boat from the Commodore to Lieut. 
Parker, received a severe wound in the neck, which a few days after re- 
sulted in his death. The flotilla, Avith the prizes, now withdrew from be- 
fore the town, and proceeded down the river. Such vessels found in the 
river as were of little value were burned, and the rest of the prizes were 
sent to the main squadron near Vera Cruz. The McLane and the For- 
ward, revenue cutters, were left to maintain the blockade of the river, and 
Com. Perry and command rejoined Com. Conner. 

Previous to this successful expedition against Tobasco, some naval 
movements were made which did not have so satisfactory a termination. 
In August Com. Conner planned an expedition against Alvarado, the first 
town of any importance on the coast to the eastward of Vera Cruz. But 
it failed in consequence of none of the vessels being able to cross the bar — 
the small steamei-s and schooners which ultimately proved so efficient in 
operations of this kind, not having been sent out at that time. When 
they arrived, in October, Com. Conner made another attempt to take pos- 
session of Alvarado. The defences of the place were by no means insig- 
nificant, consisting of several forts and batteries commanding the harbor 
and the entrance. The steamer Vixen towed in the two schoonei-s Bonita 
and Reefer, and this division was able to return the fire of the batteries. 
The steamer Mississippi was also enabled to reach a position where she 
did considerable execution with her long guns. But the steamer McLane 
touched on the bar, and so was unable to bring the second division, con- 
sisting of the Nonata, Petrel and Forward, into action. This misfortune 
frustrated the plan ; as the first division not being properly supported, it 
became necessary to recall it. 

An attempt to capture Tuspan, situated on the coast, above Vera Cniz, 
resulted in the loss of one of the vessels of the squadron. On the 1 5th 
of August, Commander Carpenter stood in for the town with the brig 
Truxton. She struck upon the bar and obstinately resisted all eftbils to 
get her off. Her oflicers and men, with the exception of Lieut. Hunter 
and a boat's crew, were obliged to surrender to the Mexicans. They were, 
however, subsequently exchanged. 

In the autumn of this year a plan of a campaign was marked out, 
which contemplated the reduction of the city of Vera Cruz and its femous 
castle, and thence the march of a large anny by the shortest route to the 
cajjital of Mexico. It was highly advisable to conceal this plan from the 
Mexican government. In order, therefore, to divert attention from the real 
point of attack, and to afford a convenient place for concenti-ating troops, 
ordere were sent in October to Com. Conner to take possession of Tampico. 
The Raritan, Potomac, and St. Mary's were ordered to rendezvous off that 
port. On the 1 2th of November the steamer Mississij^pi, having on board 
a detachment of one hundred marines and seamen from the Cumberland, 
and towing the VLxen, Nonata, Bonita and Reefer, and the steamer 
Princeton, having in tow the Spitfire and Petrel, left the anchorage of 
Anton Lizardo. Anived off the bar of Tampico, on the morning of the 
14th, three hundred men were placed in the boats of the various vessels, 
which, in connection with the schoonei-s aliove mentioned in tow of the 
steamers Spitfire and Vixen, were carried safely over the bar, and passed 



82 NAVAL HISTORY. [1846. 

up the river. The defences of the city had been abandoned, so that no 
resistance was met with. Before i-eaching it^ a deputation of the govern- 
ment came on board, with whom the terms of a peaceable surrender were 
arranged. Two merchant Aessels and three gun-boats were captured in 
the hai'bor. A strict blockade of the port was still maintained after its 
capture ; and it was also garrisoned for some time by a strong detachment 
of troops. 

From Tampico an exi^edition was sent under Commander Tattnall, with 
the steamer Spitfire and the schooner Petrel, to Panuco, situated about 
eighty miles up a river of the same name, for the purpose of destroying 
some cannon and other munitions of war, which the Mexicans had trans- 
ported from Tampico before its capture. Though the river banks afforded 
many points from which artillery might have swept the decks of the ves- 
sels, the enemy oftered no opposition, and on the 19th of November, the 
town was taken possession of, and the military stores desti'oyed or brought 
away. In the latter part of November, the frigate Cumberland was sent 
home for repairs, Captain Forrest being transferred with his crew to the 
Raritan, and Captain Gregory and crew going home in the Cumberland. 

While the squadron was off Tampico, the brig Somers maintained the 
blockade of Vera Cruz. The barque Creole, conveying munitions of war 
to the Mexicans, had violated the blockade, and lay on the night of the 
20th of November in supposed secmity, under the guns of the fortress 
St. Juan d'Ulloa. In the darkness, a boat from the Somers quietly ap- 
proached her, containing Lieut. Parker, Passed-midshipmen Rogers and 
Hynson, and five seamen. The guard was surprised, captured, and after- 
wai-d set on shore, while the vessel was set fire to and burned. The 
adventurous and gallant party escaped without injury. 

On the 5th of December, Passed-midshipman Rogers, and Dr. Wright, 
attached to the Somers, with one of the crew, went on shore in the vicin- 
ity of Vera Cruz for the purpose of a reconnoissance. They were soon 
surprised by a party of Mexicans; and Dr. Wright managed to escape, 
but the other two Avere taken prisoners. Though Midshipman Rogers 
wore his uniform, and could only be properly deemed a pi-isoner of war, 
his fate was for a long time doubtful, the Mexican authorities seeking to 
convict him as a spy. He endured great hardships, and was finally taken 
to the city of Mexico, whence he escaped before the city was captured by 
the American arms, joined the army of Gen. Scott, and served with dis- 
tinction in the brilliant battles which closed the war. His misfortune in 
being captured, however, probably saved him from the more melancholy 
fate of most of his companions on board the Somers. This active little 
cruiser, on the 8th of December, while seeking under a press of canvas to 
cut ofi' a vessel which was making for the harbor of Vera Cruz, Avas struck 
by a " norther " and thrown on her beam-ends. She soon went down, 
carrying with her. Acting-master Clemson, Passed-midshipman Hynson 
and nearly one half "her crew of eighty men. The John Adams, just 
coming down the coast, went to the assistance of the brig, as also did the 
boats of the British, French, and Spanish ships of war, anchored near; 
by these some of the officers and men were rescued, while others reached 
the shore and were taken prisoners. Gold and silver medals wei'e subse- 
quently presented, by order of Congress, to the officers and men of the 



1847.] NAVAL HISTORY. 83 

foreign vessels who so nobly and generously risked their own lives in 
saving some of their feUow-men from the wreck of the unfortunate 
Somers. 

Commodore Perry, with the Mississippi, Vixen, Bonita and Petrel, ar- 
rived off the town of Laguna, in the province of Yucatan, on the 20th 
of December. Leaving the Mississippi off the bar, he took the schooners 
and barges in tow of the Vixen, and proceeded up to the town. Posses- 
sion was taken without any difficulty, and the military stores seized. Two 
forts were occupied, the American flag hoisted upon them, and the guns 
and carriages destroyed. Commander Sands, with the Vixen and Petrel, 
was left in charge of the place. On returning along the coast, Lieut. 
Comd't Benham, in the Bonita, was left at Tobasco river, to assume the 
command of the blockading vessels at that point. 

The year 1847 commenced with very extensive and active preparations 
for the contemplated attack on Vera Cruz and the castle of St. Juan 
d'Ulloa. The descent of so large a body of troops as was necessary for 
the grand plan of the catnpaign, upon an open coast, with the needful 
but heavy encumbrance of its military supplies, could be no light work ; 
and the aid of the navy was in all aspects of the undertaking indis- 
pensable. Great activity consequently pervaded this department of the 
national government. Bomb-ketches and steamers were purchased, 
equipped and sent to the Gulf The Ohio 74, which was preparing for 
the Pacific, and the sloops Germantown 20, Saratoga 20, and Decatur 16, 
were rapidly fitted out and ordered to join the squadron. On the coast of 
Mexico was soon assembled, around Vera Cruz as a centre, or scattered 
off different ports on blockading duty, probably the largest force ever 
under the command of a single American naval officer. 

The transports, conveying troops and supplies, were directed to rendez- 
vous at the island of Lobos, which lies about twelve miles off the coast, 
some sixty miles below Tampico. At this point, many of them assem- 
bled during the month of February, and as the season was advancing, 
though many very necessary supplies had not yet arrived, the commander- 
in-chief decided to effect an immediate lauding. 

The following detailed account of the debarkation of the army of 
Major-general Scott, is from the pen of William G. Temple, Passed- 
midshipman in the navy, who, in view of the nautical interest attached 
to the movement, has compiled from oi;',ginal sources, a memoir of tlie 
operation, addressed to the Secretary of the Navy and placed among the 
files of his department. The substance of this document is here given. 

"In view of landing the army at some point near Vera Cruz, surf- 
boats suitable for that service were contracted for in the different ports of 
the United States, by the quarter-master's department of the anny. These- 
boats were built with both ends alike, so as to steer with an oar at each, 
end, and to stow in nests of three each, the largest one measuring forty 
feet in lengih. One hundred and forty-one boats, or forty-seven neste 
were contracted for and built; out of this number, hoAvever, only sixty- 
five had reached head-quailers by the the time they were requhed for the 
hmding of the troo|>s. 

" The army sailed from the rendezvous at Lobos Island on the 5th of 
March. In anticipation of the arrival of the transports off Vera Cru2, 



84 NAVAL HISTORY. [1847. 

tlie frigate Potomac and the sloops of war Albany and John Adams were 
stationed in the vicinity of Isla Verde, (some five miles to seaward of the 
citj^,) with orders to put an officer on board each vessel as she arrived, to 
pilot her into the anchorage at Anton Lizardo ; or should the number of 
officers prove inadequate to this duty, to furnish the mastere of the trans- 
ports with such sailing directions as would enable them to pass inside of 
the Blanquilla Reefs to the anchorage. 

" The naval squadron, under the command of Commodore Conner, 
and the transports having on baard the troops and their equipments, 
under the command of Major-general Scott, were thus concentrated 
at the anchorage between the island of Salmadina and Point Anton 
Lizardo : a distance of some ten or twelve miles to the eastward of Vera 
Cruz. 

" As fast as those transports having on board any of the smf-boats ar- 
rived, the boats were launched under the direction of a lieutenant of the 
squadron, their equipment inspected, and every thing belonging to them 
fully prepared for service ; after which they were hauled np on the land- 
ward side of the island, and an-anged and numbered by divisions; each 
division consisting of ten boats, taken from all the different sizes. 

" In the mean time a speedy debarkation was resolved upon ; it being 
important that a landing should be effected before 'a norther' should 
come on, as that would delay tlie operation several days. Accordingly, 
the Geueral-iu-chief and the Commodore of the squadron made a joint 
reconiioissance in the steamer Petrita, with a view of selecting the most 
advantageous point for that purpose. The choice lay principally between 
Point Anton Lizardo, opposite which the squadron and transports lay an- 
chored, and the beach directly abreast the island of Sacrificios. The great 
objection to the first of these two, was the distance (about fifteen miles) 
that the troops would have to march before reaching the point of attack ; 
while, at the same time, the road led through deep, loose sand, and in- 
volved the passage of one or two considerable streams. As to the mere 
landing, however, it was deemed quite as good as that near Sacrificios. 
The selection of this last-named point, obviated the difficulty already 
mentioned, being within two and a half miles of the city walls, although 
it had its own disadvantages. The exceedingly confined space afforded 
here for a secure anchorage, rendered it dangerous, in the then season of 
'northers,' to bring up many of the transports. It was therefore sug- 
gested to transfer all the troops from the transports to the men-of-war and 
steamei-s, and after their debarkation, to order Tip from Anton Lizardo such 
transports with provisions and stores, as might first be required ; which, 
in turn, might make room for others, till all should be landed.* 

" In view of all these considerations, the beach near Sacrificios was 
deemed the most eligible point, and the debarkation was appointed to take 
place on the 8th of March. General ordera were therefore issued on the 
7th, by the Commodore, and the Commanding General, prescribing the 
necessary arrangements. 

* Subsequent to the landinfr, however, the transports were ordered to Sacrificios in too great 
numbers ; and a gale of wind coming ou from the north, about forty vessels were blown upoa 
the beach. 



1847.] NAVAL HISTORY. 85 

"The surf-boats were apportioned for use among the men-of-war as 
follows : 

Frigate Raritan, 15. 

Frigate Potomac, 20. 

Sloop of war Albany, 10. 

Sloop of war St. Marys, 10. 

Steamer Princeton, 10. 

" These vessels were directed to furnish to each boat, so apportioned to 
them, a crew of seven seamen, and a junior or petty officer to command 
it. Each division of ten boats was commanded by a lieutenant, and in 
some instances, was divided between two of that grade ; the general di- 
rection of the whole remaining always with the senior. Captain Forrest, 
commanding the frigate Raritan, was ordered to superintend the whole 
operation. , 

" The officers detailed for this duty were sent on shore the day j^revious 
to the debarkation, and the boats allotted to their raspective ships pointed 
out to them as they lay ranged and numbered on the beach, so as tt) avoid 
confusion and an indiscriminate seizure of the boats, when they should 
come with their crews at daylight to launch them. The boats' anchors 
were stowed in the steras of the boats with their hawsers coiled clear for 
running ; and the cockswains were instructed, in case the landing should 
be effected in a heavy surf, to drop the anchor from the stem outside the 
breakers, and to pay out the hawser as the boat went in, so that after 
the troops should have jumped out in shoal water, the boat could be 
warped out again through the breakers, without having received any 
injury from thumping on the beach.* 

" The troops were ordered to be in readiness for the following distri- 
bution among the different men-of-war and steamers, to take passage 
from Anton Lizardo to Sacrificios. 

"The 1st line under Brevet Brigadier-general Worth, consisting of the 
1st brigade of regulars and Captain Swift's company of sappers and 
miners, to be received on board the frigate Raritan and the steamers 
Princeton and Edith. The field batteries of Captain Taylor and Lien- 
tenant Talcott (also attached to this line and to be landed with them) 
to be towed up, in their i-espective transports, by the steamers Massachu- 
setts and Alabama. 

" The 2d line, under Major-general Patterson, consisting of the 1st 
brigade of volunteei-s commanded by Brigadier-general Pillow, and the 
South Carolina regiment of vohmteersf (all of the 2d brigade tli-at had 
yet arrived out) to be received on board the frigate Potomac and the 
steamers Alabama and Virginia. The reserve, under Brigadier-general 
Twiggs, consisting of the 2d brigade of regulai-s, to be received on board 
the sloops of war Albany and St. Marys, the brig Porpoise, and the 
steamers Massachiisetts, Eudora and Petrita. 

• This precaution, however, proved unnecessary at the time of landing:, from the smooth- 
state of the water ; but at a later period, while landing heavy articles in a surf, it was resorted 
to with great success. 

f Tlie South Carolina regiment, finding themselves crowded out of the vessels assigned to 
their transportation, asked and received permission from Captain Sands of the steamer Vixen, 
to take passage in Iub vessel. 



86 NAVAL HISTORY. [1847. 

" Every man of the army was directed to take in his haversack, bread 
and meat (cooked) for two days ; and the vessels of war were ordered to 
supply the troops with water and provisions, while on board. 

" A system of signals had been arranged beforehand, by the General- 
iu-chief, by which the ti-ansports were to indicate the number of boats 
required by each one to take from them the troops they had on board. 
They were to hoist a flag at the fore for each boat required to receive the 
first line, and to haul them down as the boats arrived alongside ; in like 
manner at the main for the second line, and at the mizzen for the reserve. 

" All the preliminary arrangements were thus completed on the evening 
of the 'Zth, but the next morning there were indications of a "norther," 
and the movement was postponed. At sunrise on the morning of the 
9th, the officers and men detailed for that duty, were sent from the men- 
of-war, to launch and man the surf-boats. Those divisions of boats 
manned by the Raritan and Princeton were assigned to the transfer of 
the firet line; going for them whenever a transport ha'd flags flying at 
the fore, and taking them to the vessels of war and steamers, according 
to the herein before mentioned distribution. In like manner those divi- 
sions manned by the Potomac were assigned to the transfer of the second 
line, and those by the Albany and St. Marys to the reserve. 

"Each of the frigates received on board between twenty-five and 
twenty-eight hundred men, with their arms and accoutrements ; the sloops 
received about nine hundi'ed each, and the smaller vessels numbers in 
proportion. 

" When all were transfen-ed, the fifteen boats belonging to the Raritan 
were taken to the steamer Spitfire to be towed to Sacrificios ; the steamer 
Vixen went alongside the Potomac and took in tow the twenty boats belong- 
ing to her; the Albany sent her ten to the steamer Eudora, the St. Marys' 
ten were sent to the steamer Petrita, and the Princeton took in tow her 
own ten. At the same time the vessels, so sending them, detailed two 
lieutenants and two midshipmen to remain on board the towing steamers, 
and look out for their boats, together with two seamen for each boat, 
who were to remain in them, and steer them during the tow. 

" This pai-t of the movement was completed very successfully about 10 
o'clock A. M. ; aud a few moments thereafter, the squadron and such of 
the transports as had been selected for the purpose, got under way for 
Sacrificios : the General-in-chief on board the steamer Massachusetts, and 
the Commodore of the squadron in the frigate Raritan. 

" The weather was very fine, with a fresh yet gentle breeze from the 
south-east and a peifectly smooth sea. The passage to Sacrificios occupied 
between two and three hours. Each vessel came in and anchored in 
the small space previously allotted to her, without the slightest disorder 
or confusion, the anchorage being still very much crowded notwithstanding 
the number of transports that had been left behind. 

" The debaikation commenced on the instant. Each vessel reclaiming 
her surf-boats from the steamer that had towed them up, sent them to 
receive tlie first line. The Princeton was ordered to take a position 
abreast the landing-place, and as near the shore as possible; and the 
surf-boats were directed, after receiving their quota of soldiers, to rendez- 
vous astern of her, and to form there in a double line-ahead, according to 



1847.] NAVAL HISTORY. 87 

regiments and companies, and in prescribed order of battle ; the two head 
boats holding on to each quarter of tho Princeton, other two holding on 
to them, and so on, with the regimental flag flying in the head boat of 
each regiment. 

" In the mean time, while this work of transfer and an-angement was 
going on, the steamers Spitfii-e and Vixen, and the five gunboats Petrel, 
Bonita, Reefer, Falcon, and Tampico were ordered to anchor in a line 
parallel with and as close in to the beach as they could get, to cover the 
landing with their guns if necessary. These vessels were armed chiefly 
with 32 pounder shell guns, and were of such hght draught (from five 
to eight feet) that they were enabled to take positions within good grape 
range of the shore. 

" When all was prepared, the boats cast oft' from the Princeton, and 
from each other, squared away in line-abreast, and pulled in together to 
the beach, where the troops landed without the sUghtest opposition. The 
boats immediately returned to the vessels for the second line of the army, 
and afterward for the reserve ; and without waiting to form again in order 
of battle, they continued to pour the troops upon the beach, in successive 
trips, as fast as they could come and go. At some places the loaded 
boats grounded on the bar, or false beach, some twenty yards from dry 
land ; and the troops had to wade through waist-deep water to get ashore. 
This occurred in compai-atively few instances, however; and aside from 
the inconvenience of these few wettings, not an accident of any kind 
occurred tliroughout the whole operations. No enemy appeared to dispute 
the ground ; and General Worth had the satisfaction of forming his com- 
mand upon the neighboring sand-hills just before sunset. The landing 
commenced about the middle of the afternoon, and before 10 o'clock that 
night upward of 10,000 men, with stores and provisions for several days, 
were safely deposited on the beach. 

" The steamer New Orleans with the Louisiana regiment of volunteers, 
800 strong, arrived at Anton Lizardo just as the squadron had been put 
in motion for Sacrificios. She joined them ; and her ti-oops, together with 
the marines of the squadron, (who formed a battalion, under the command 
of Captain Edson of the marine corps,) were landed with the others. 
Other troop ships came in subsequently ; so that on the 24th of March the 
field return showed a total of 12,603 men. 

" In the mean time, also, the transports were ordered up successively 
from Anton Lizardo ; and whenever the weather would permit, the sm-f- 
boats (still manned and ofiicered from the squadi'on) were constantly 
employed in landing artillery, horses, provisions, and stores. 

" The perfect success of the entire operation is sufliciently evident from 
the foregoing, without further demonstration. It only i-emains, therefore, 
to add a few words from the report of the two commanding officers, 
expressive of their gratification. Commodore Conner says : ' The officers 
and men vmder my command vied with each other, on that occasion, in 
a zealous and energetic performance of their duty. I cannot but express 
to the Department, the gi-eat satisfaction I have derived from witnessing 
their eftbrts to contribute aU in their power to the success of their more 
fortunate brethren of the anny.' 

" General Scott writes, that ' to Commodore Conner, and the officers 



8g NAVAL HISTORY. [1847 

and sailors of Ms command, the army is indebted for great and unceasing 
assistance, promptly and clieerfiiUy rendered. Their co-operation is the 
constant theme of our gratitude and admiration.' " 

Pending the bombardment of Vera Cruz, Commodore Conner, who 
had now been in command of the Home squadron more than three years, 
and ,Yhose health had become seriously impaired, was relieved, on the 
2l8t of March, by Commodore M. C. Peny, and returned home in the 
Princeton. 

On the 2 2d of March, the investment of the city being completed and 
some of the batteries constructed, the Governor was called upon to surren- 
der. This being declined, in the afternoon of the day the firing commenced 
from the trenches, and was returned both from the city and the castle. 
At the same time the two small steamers, the Spitfire and Vixen, and the 
five gun-boats, led by Commander J. Tattnall, took a position, near the 
shore, whence their heavy shot could reach the city. This ])osition was 
gallantly maintained and their fire kept up with rapidity and steadiness 
until late in the evening. They were supplied with ammunition during 
the night, and on the morning of the 24th moved to a still nearer and 
more favorable position, whence the firing was resumed. It soon became 
apparent, however, that the flotilla was in a position inconsistent with its 
safety, and it was consequently recalled. 

It being the earnest desire of the officere and men of the navy to take 
some active part in the siege. General Scott generously assigned them a 
place in the trenches. Three eight-inch Paixhan guns and three long 
32 pounders were landed from the squadron; and after vast labor in 
dragging them through the sand, in which duty the sailors were aided 
by detachments from the army, they were mounted in battery under the 
superintendence of Commander A. S. Mackenzie. This battery was 
served by different detachments from the several vessels, composed of 
lieutenants and other officers with an adequate number of seamen, all 
under the command of a captain. Each detachment was on duty twenty- 
four hours. The battery opened its fire on the 24th under charge of 
Captain J. H. Aulick of the Potomac. As soon as discovered, it drew 
upon itself an exceedingly severe fire from the enemy's guns, which was 
returned deliberately and with marked effect for about four houi-s, when 
the supply of ammunition failed. The loss from this detachment was 
five seamen killed and one officer and four men wounded. The relief 
party arrived in the afternoon under the command of Captain Mayo of 
the Mississippi. The breastworks having been much shattered, the night 
was spent in repairing them. Early on the moniing of the 25th, the fire 
of four of the Mexican batteries was concentrated upon this work. An 
active cannonade was continued in return until half-past two p. m., when 
the enemy's guns were silenced. Two other batteries then turned their 
fire upon the naval battery, and they also were soon rendered inefficient. 
During this day Midshipman T. B. Shubrick, while pointing a gun, was 
killed. One seaman was killed and three were slightly wounded. Captain 
Mayo was relieved at the close of the day by Captain S. L. Breese of the 
Albany. The cannonade of the day gave employment for the night in 
restoring the dilapidated defences. In the morning a storm so filled the 
air with dust that it was impossible to sight the guns, and soon an order 



18i1.] NAVAL HISTORY. 89 

arrived from tlie Commander-in-chief that the firing need not be resumed, 
as negotiations for a surrender were in progress. During the siege, the 
naval battery tlu-ew one thousand Paixhan shells and eight hundred 
round shot into the enemy's walls and foils. 

In the commission for the settlement of the terms of capitulation, 
Captain Aulick represented the navy; and, on the 29th of March, the 
combined forces of the army and navy took possession of the city and 
castle, while the American flag floated over both amid a grand salute from 
the squadron and the batteries. 

Immediately after the surrender of Vera Cruz, a combined movement 
was made for the capture of Alvarado, which, after the two previously 
mentioned failures, was in this instance accomplished. General Quitman, 
with his brigade of volunteer troops, was directed to proceed by land, in 
order to cut off" the retreat of the Mexicans, and especially to gain pos- 
session of the horees and mules of that region, upon which the army was 
depending for a forward mo\'ement. Commodore Perry directed Lieu- 
tenant Charles G. Hunter, commanding the steamer Scourge, to proceed 
in ad\"ance with that vessel and blockade the harbor, while he himself 
followed with the other vessels more slowly, so as to co-operate with 
General Quitman when he should arrive in the rear of the town. But 
Lieutenant Hunter, who reached the bar on the 30th of March, allowed 
himself to be tempted by his zeal into an immediate attack upon the 
fortifications at the mouth of the ri^'er, instead of obeying the letter of 
his ordei-s and simply maintaining a blockade. The next day, after a 
renewal of the attack, the ]\Iexicans withdrew from the batteries and from 
the town, when Lieutenant Hunter entered the river, captured four schoon- 
ers, left a garrison to guard the place, and proceeded up to Tlacotalpam. 
This town surrendered without resistance. Thus was the apparent object 
of the expedition accomplished before the main force arrived; but the 
important purpose of drawing supplies for the anny from this quarter was 
entirely defeated, as the Mexicans escaped with their animals before the 
land force could hem them in. Commodore Perry arrived on the 2d of 
April, but his too active subordinate had left nothing to be done in the 
way of conquest. Quiet possession was taken of the town, and of such 
public property as had not been destroyed when the enemy evacuated 
the place. Sixty cannon were found, thirty-five of which were shipped 
and the remainder destroyed. Lieutenant Hunter was immediately placed 
imder aiT&st, and was afterward, by the sentence of a court-martial, dis- 
missed from the squadron for disobedience of orders. 

As soon as Alvarado was reduced, Commodore Peny turned his atten- 
tion to a movement against Tuspan. It will be remembered that the 
brig-of-war Truxton was lost on the bar while engaged in an attempt to 
capture this place. Some of her guns were now mounted in the forts 
which defended the town ; and it was rather a point of honor with the 
navy to retake them. This expedition received no aid from the army. 
The Piaritan, with a detachment of one hundred and eighty officers and 
men from the Potomac, the Albany, John Adams, Germantown, and 
Decatiu', and the bomb-vessels Vesuvius, Etna, and Hecla, were ordered 
to rendezvous at the Island.- of Lobos. Commodore Perry in the Missis- 
sippi, accompanied by the steamei-s Spitfire, Vixen, and Scourge, and the 



90 NAVAL HISTORY. 1847.] 

gun-boats Bonita, Petrel, and Reefer, with 9. party of tliree hundred officers 
and men from the Ohio, sailed from Sacrificios on the 12th of April. 
Joining the vessels at Lobos, he arrived off the bar of Tuspan on the l7th, 
and made preparations for an attack the next day. The larger ships 
being anchoi-ed outside, the small steamers, the gun-boats, and about thirty 
barges crossed the bar without accident on the morning of the 18th. 
The whole force detached from the ships — forming the landing party and 
carried in the barges — amounted to 1,490 officers, seamen and marines, 
with four pieces of light artillery for land service. The whole was led by 
Commodore Perry on board the steamer Spitfire. The approach to the 
town was defended by two forts on the right and one on the left bank of 
the river, in very excellent positions to sweep any force coming up stream. 
General Cos of the Mexican army was in command and had under him 
a force of 650 troops. When the flotilla came within range of the 
enemy's guns, the barges sheered off to land the detachment which was 
to operate on shore, under command of Captain S. L. Breese, while the 
steamers and gun-boats moved up the river. The Mexicans made but 
a feeble defence. They fired from the forts and also with musketry along 
the borders of the river. But as the American force came up, they rap- 
idly fell back, deserting the batteries before the land party could get near 
enough to storm them. The attack, therefore, proved entirely successful, 
and the capture was effected, with a loss to the Americans of only three 
seamen killed and five officers and six men wounded. The guns and a 
quantity of ordnance stores belonging to the Truxton were recovered. 

The Albany and the Reefer were left to watch Tuspan. The Hecla 
was sent to blockade Soto de la Marina, the Etna to Tobasco river, the 
Porpoise and the Vesuvius to Laguna. 

The plan of Commodore Perry was to occupy eveiy j^oint on the coast 
at which supplies could be sent into Mexico, and thus, by diminishing 
her capability of resistance, to aid so far as the navy could, the conquering 
progress of the army. In accordance with this plan, a large part of the 
squadi'on now cruised to the eastward as far as Yucatan, to complete the 
work of bringing under American authority the maritime towns. The 
policy of the United States was also now changed. As the entire coast 
was in ovtr possession, and its towns either gairisoned or watched by a 
sufficient force, it was deemed advisable again to open the polls to the 
entrance of commerce, and to direct the revenues into our own treasury. 
The blockade was therefore raised ; a naval force, however, was still neces- 
sary to maintain the new revenue system which was imposed. 

During his cruise to the eastward. Commodore Perry touched at the 
Goazacoalcos river, where ho found a fort mounting twelve guns, but 
deserted by its gaiTison. The fort was blown up and the guns destroyed. 
The Stromboli, bomb-vessel, was left to guard this point. He then pro- 
ceeded to Laguna, in Yucatan. This port was opened, and Commander 
Magruder of the Vesuvius was appointed governor. The flag-shi]) Mis- 
sissippi then returned along the coast and met the main squadron off the 
Tobasco. The port at the mouth of this river was also declared open. 
and Commander Van Brunt of the Etna was invested with authority as 
civil and military governor. The blockade of the Goazacoalcos was also 
raised, and similar authority conferred on Comnoander Walker of the 



1847.] NAVAL HISTORY. 91 

Stromboli. Commodore PeiTy also ascended tlie latter river and received 
the formal submission of several interior towns. He then retm-ned to 
Vera Cruz. 

Captain Mayo, who had been appointed the governor of Alvarado and 
its dependencies, was active in securing the submission of many towns in 
the interior. Most of them voluntarily acknowledged his authority and 
came peaceably under the new rule. In the instance of one military expe- 
dition for the purpose of reducing a refractory town, one officer and five 
men were wounded on the part of the Americans. Otherwise the exten- 
sion of their authority over a considerable region was imattended with 
bloodshed. 

In the vicinity of Tobasco, however, matters did not remain in so good 
a condition. With no immediate force to overawe them, the Mexicans 
began to collect in considerable numbers. They held possession of the 
town, and constructed fortifications of no small strength at commanding 
points along the river. These indications of insubordination and hostility 
had continued till it became no longer prudent to disregjifd them. Com- 
modore Perry, therefore, 2)lanned another expedition against the enemy 
in this quarter. 

He arrived, on the 13th of June, off the river, with the Mississippi, 
Raritan, Albany, John Adams, Decatur, Germantown, Stromboli, Vesu- 
vius, and Washington, and the steamers Scorpion, Spitfire, Scourge, and 
Vixen; the Etna and Bonita being already within the bar at their station. 
A large force from the several ships was, as usual, organized and placed 
in the barges. It numbered in all, officers included, 1,173 strong, Avith 
seven pieces of artillery. Commodore Peny transferred his pennant to 
the steamer Scorpion, which, in connection with the other steamers, took 
the gun-boats and barges in tow, and commenced the ascent of the river 
on the 14th. No appearance of an enemy occuri-ed until the following 
day, when about twelve miles below the. town, the flotilla was fired upon 
by an armed force concealed in the chapparel on the left bank of the river. 
This fire was soon silenced by the guns and musketry of the vessels; 
and, night coming on, the flotilla lay here tiU morning. Some distance 
farther up, artificial obstructions were met with in the river, and opposite 
to them on the shore was a well constructed breastwork, from which a 
strong body of Mexicans commenced a fire. Fearing that the steamers 
might suffer an inconvenient delay before being able to pass the obstruc- 
tions, Commodore PeiTy determined to land at this point, and force his 
way through to the city. The heavy guns of the flotilla raked the 
intrenchrnent of the enemj', and the landing was eftected near it. In ten 
minutes the entire detachment was formed on the shore, with seven 
pieces of artillerj', which were taken from the boats and dragged up a 
steep bank of twenty feet height, by the sheer strength of the men. Three 
more pieces were also landed from the bomb-vessels, and then with great 
enthusiasm and eagernei^s the column moved to the attack. Their progtess 
was slow on account of the high grass and thick chapparel, through which 
they were obliged to march, at the same time dragging their artillery 
with them. The outposts of the enemy were quickly driven in, and their 
breastwork was deserted without coming to close quarters. The steamers 
also had now passed the obstmctions and were able to co-operate with 



92 NAVAL HISTORY. [1847. 

the land party. They boldly sailed on, receiving and returning the fire 
from the enemy's intrenchments, as they passed by. About a mile 
farther up was a principal work of the Mexicans, situated on a command- 
ing point and defended by three hundred regular and as many irregular 
troops. They, however, stood fire but a short time, when they fell back 
upon their remaining defences. These consisted of another breastwork, a 
mile and a half from the city — behind this about a quarter of a mile, a 
trench across the road, filled with trees, their branches sharpened and 
lapped — and a quarter of a mile still nearer the city, an extensive fortifi- 
cation commanding the river and the road, occupied by four hundred 
artillery and infentry. These works were successively carried with but a 
feeble resistance on the part of the enemy. 

During this march of nine miles the heat was exceedingly op])ressive, 
and several men sank down through exhaustion, especially among those 
who were attached to the field-pieces. The other casualties were the 
w'ounding of two officers and seven seamen. The Mexicans had at least 
fourteen hund^d men in the action, of whom about thirty were killed. 
Commodore Perry's command entered Tobasco about four o'clock in the 
afternoon of the 1 6th. A large quantity of military stores was destroyed, 
the captured cannon were removed to the vessels, the powder magazine 
was blown up, and the entire fortifications in and near the city were 
demolished. 

As the enemy still hovered around Tobasco, it was necessary to leave 
a strong force to keep them in check. Accordingly the Scorpion, Etna, 
Spitfire, and Scourge, containing four hundred and twenty officers and 
men, of whom one hundred and fifteen were marines, were directed to 
remain off the city under the orders of Commander A. Bigelow. On the 
night of the 25th of June, an attack was made by one hundred and fifty 
Mexicans on the guard stationed in the main square of the town ; they 
were repulsed, and without loss to the Americans. On the same day a 
party of twenty seamen, while on shore, were attacked by seventy Mexi- 
cans, and one of the formei- was wounded, the enemy losing one killed 
and six wounded. Small parties of the enemy occupied the outskirts of 
the town, and it was therefore necessary that the detachments on shore 
should be C(Mitinually on the alert. Lieutenant-commandant Porter was 
also directed to burn the ranchos in the neighborhood of the town, in 
which the Mexican troops sheltered themselves. These were destroyed, 
to the number of two hundred. At a village called Tamultay, about 
three miles distant, some five hundred Mexicans were collected, and 
from this point, as head-quarters, these annoying attacks were kept up. 
Commander Bigelow determined to dislodge them from this position, 
and so, if possible, disperse them. Accordingly, on the morning of the 
30th of June, he marched at the head of two hundred and forty men, with 
two field-pieces, in the direction of the village. When still a quarter of 
a mile from it, his command was assailed by a fire of musketry from both 
sides of the road, where the Mexicans had posted themselves in ambush. 
The column remained firm and promptly returned the fire. The Mexi- 
cans still held their ground until the artillery was brought into action, 
when, after a few discharges, they broke and fled in confusion. The 
pursuit proved ineffectual, as the enemy were too well acquainted with 



1847.] NA.VAL HISTORY, 93 

the avenues of escape to be overtaken. The Americans lost two men 
killed and five wounded ; tlie loss on tlie other side could not be ascer- 
tained. Two steamers, which started up the river with the purpose of 
co-operating in the attack on the village, in consequence of grounding, 
through ignorance of the channel, did not reach their point of destination 
until the battle had been decided. 

This action brought hostilities to a close in this quarter, and shortly 
after, the vessels were withdrawn and resumed their stations at the mouth 
of the river and at other points along the coast. Guerilla parties stiU 
disturbed the inhabitants in the vicinity of Alvarado and Froutera, but no 
serious encounters occurred. 

The squadron by this time had been greatly reduced, it being no longer 
necessary to maintain on the coast service, so large a force as had been 
assembled previous to the capture of Vera Cruz. The Ohio, the several 
frigates, the brigs, and a part of the sloops, had been detached from the 
squadron. In August the vessels remaining under the orders of Commo- 
dore Perry, were the Mississippi, Germantown, Decatur, Saratoga, John 
Adams, five small steamers, four gun-boats, and four bomb-vessels. 

In relating the services of the navy during the Mexican war, it should 
also be mentioned that a detachment of the marines of the squadron, 
under the orders of Lieutenant-colonel Watson of that corps, served with 
the army of General Scott. It joined the main army in the vicinity of 
the city of Mexico, and in time to take part in those celebrated actions 
which resulted in the capture of the national capital. It was attached to 
the division of Major-general Quitman, and was first brought into battle 
on the 13th of September, on the occasion of the storming of the strong 
fortress of Chapultepec and of the fortifications which covered the Belen 
gate of the city. At the base of the hill on which Chapultepec is situated, 
and on the left flank, were two batteries of considerable strengih, protected 
also by some solid buildings and a wall fifteen feet high. It was at this 
point that General Quitman's division was to advance to the attack upon 
the Castle. The storming party was selected from the different volunteer 
corps of the division, including therefore a part of the marine coi-ps, and 
was placed under the command of Major Levi Twiggs of the marines. 
A pioneer storming party of select men, with ladders, pickaxes and crow- 
bai-s, was led by Captain Reynolds, also of the marines. Associated with 
these, was also a storming party of regulars, detailed from General Twiggs' 
division, and under its own officers. 

A heavy and prolonged cannonade had been maintained from various 
])oints upon the Castle and its outworks, in order to open the way for the 
contenqilated assault. On the morning of the 1 3th, the concerted attack 
commenced with the different divisions of the army under the immediate 
directions of the Commander-in-chief General Quitman's command 
advanced over difficult ground and with slight protection, under a heavy 
fire from the fortress, the batteries and the breastworks of the enemy, the 
storming parties leading the colunm. The battalion of marines was also 
posted in a prominent position, wheir« it could support the storming par- 
ties. The severe fire of the enemy soon revealed its effects upon the 
advancing column. The brave and lamented Major Twiggs was killed 
on the first advance, at the head of his command. But there was no 



94 NAVAL HISTORY. [1847 

halting. The storming party rushed on to its desperate duty with resist- 
less force, and entered the Mexican works. It was closely and ably 
supported. The Mexicans stood their ground with unusual resolution 
and courage. The contest was now hand to hand — swords and bayonets 
were crossed and rifles were clubbed. But the valor and enthusiasm of 
the Americans stiU triumphed. These outworks were can-ied and the 
way to the fortress from this direction was opened. The troops did not 
pause on this threshold of their conquest, but pressed on and fought their 
way into Chapultepec by the side of their brethren, who had been equally 
successful at the other points of attack. 

The marines still accompanied their division in its progress along the 
causeway toward the Belen gate, and participated in the long and bloody 
battle by which, finally, this avenue to the city was opened. On the 
morning of the 1 4th, the division of General Quitman entered the city, 
and was the fii'st portion of the army which marched into the Grand 
Plaza. The palace, now deserted by the Mexican authorities, was oveiTun 
with the desperate characters of the population, bent on plunder. Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Watson, with his battalion of marines, was ordered to clear it 
of these intruders and protect it from spoliation ; which duty he promptly 
and successfully performed. This corps lost in the actions detailed above, 
Major Twiggs and six men killed, two Ueutenants and two sergeants 
wounded. 

Lieutenant Semmes of the navy, who served as a volunteer aid in 
General Worth's staftj and Passed Midshipman Rogers who was employed 
in the same capacity in General Pillow's stafl:j received high commenda- 
tions from their chiefs for theii- conduct in the several battles around the 
city of Mexico. 

The conclusion of the war released the naval force from its monotonous 
duty of guarding the coast, and protecting the revenue interests. Since 
this epoch, now memorable in the annals of the country, the navy has 
been employed in no hostile operations, its power being occupied simply 
in the appropriate duties of a state of peace. 



CHAPTER VIL 

Lieutenant Lynch's expedition to the Dead Sea in 1848 — Danjjferous navigation of the River 
Jordan — Scientific results of the expedition — The Grinnell expedition iu search of Sir 
John Franklin — Dangers of the ice — Severe cold and darkness — No tidings of the lost 
Mariners — Expeditions to Japan, China, River La Plata, and western coast of Africa — Con- 
dition and resources of the Navy in 1853. 

Though the navy is strictly a military organization, and its martial 
achievements constitute its essential renown, yet its incidental services to 
science, or to any of the ai-ts that facilitate human intercourse and promote 
human improvement, are without doubt worthy to be chronicled in its 
history. In accordance with this idea of the historian's duty, a brief 



1848.] NAVAL HISTORY. 95 

account must be given of an expedition to explore the course of tlie river 
Jordan, and the shores of the Dead Sea, which was planned and executed 
by William F. Lynch, lieutenant in the navy of the United States. 

An apphcation for this purpose was made by Lieutenant Lynch in the 
early part of the year 1847, to the proper authoi'ities at Washington. 
The pri\-ilege was granted in July, and he was directed to make his pre- 
pai'ations at the expense of the Department. In October he was appointed 
to the command of the store-ship Supply, destined to the Mediterranean 
with naval stores for the squadron. Every thing necessary for so unusual 
an enterprise was carefuUy selected and placed on board of the Supply, 
which sailed from New York on the 26th of November. In February, 
1848, she reached Smyrna, where Lieutenant Lynch left the ship and pro- 
ceeded to Constantinople, to obtain from the SubMme Porte the requisite 
authority to cross through Palestine with his party. This obtained, with 
orders to the governors of the region to aftbrd him aid and protection, he 
returned to his ship, and on the 31st of March, was landed with his boats 
and party on the beach at Haifa, in the bay of Acre, on the coast of Syria. 

The boats provided for the expedition were constructed on the principle 
of the life-boats of Mr. Francis, one being made of copper and the other 
of galvanized iron. They were fitted on trucks, and were di-awn by 
camels across the country from Acre to Tiberias, on the western shore of 
the sea of Galilee. The party consisted of Lieutenant Lynch, Lieutenant 
Dale, Passed Midshipman Auhck — Mr. Bedlow and Mr. Anderson, volun- 
teers — and eleven petty officei-s and seamen. They carried with them a 
large blunderbuss, and each officer and seaman was fully provided with 
small-arms. Supplies for the party were transported on camels, and a 
guard of mounted Arabs was also engaged. Thus the entire caravan 
consisted of twenty-tkree camels, about eighteen horses and some thiily 
men, and, as it wound through the secluded viUages of Palestine, presented 
a novel and picturesque appearance. 

At Tiberias, Lieutenant Lynch obtained a wooden boat, in which he 
embarked a part of his stores ; but this was soon so much damaged in 
the difiicult navigation of the Jordan, that it became entirely unservice- 
able. On the 10th of April, they left Tiberias and stretched down the 
lake. Besides the party in the boats, there was a party composed princi- 
pally of Arabs, under the command of Lieutenant Dale, which kept com- 
pany on the western shore of the river, in order to be at hand in assisting 
their companions in any emergency. Lieutenant Lynch occupied eight 
days in sailing from the lake to the Dead Sea. So sinuous is the coui-se 
of tlie river, that it passes over about two hundi-ed miles in accomplishing a 
direct distance of sixty. The navigation was found to be of the most exciting 
and hazardous character. No boats could have passed through the severe 
ordeal but the metafile ones so wisely provided. These, manned by their 
intrepid crews and guided by then- skillful officers, shot down frightful 
cascades and plunged into boiling torrents, and though receiving some 
Lard blows by coming in contact with the sunken rocks, they carried 
the adventurous navigators unharmed through every danger. At times 
it was necessary for the men to spring out, and, holding the boats by thoir 
sides to guide them by main strength down the rapid cun-ent. 

Indeed the labors and exposm-es incident to such a voyage were 



96 NAVAL HISTORY. [1848. 

excessivoT aud cannot be detailed in this short account. The party was also 
fortunate in escaping any attacks from wandering Arabs, which from 
all representations they had been led to expect. The officers were respec- 
tively occupied in making observations relating to the topography, aud 
the geological and botanical characteristics of the country through wliich 
they passed. 

On the 18th of April, they entered the dreary and mysterious waste 
of waters so appropriately called the Dead Sea. Their first encampment 
was at Feshkah, on the western shore of the sea, about five miles from 
the mouth of the Jordan, where the land-party joined them, as they had 
previously done whenever it was practicable to meet. It was with great 
difficulty that the navigators reached this point, for they encountered a 
gale very soon after entering the sea, which, acting upon the ponderous 
water, made it almost impossible to work the boats toward the shore, 
and night settled down upon them in these gloomy circumstances. After 
severe toil they were able to reach their companions ou shore. Amid 
the impressive and sublime scenery of this sea, Lieutenant Lynch and his 
party spent several weeks. They established a permanent encampment, 
and from this center made constant and extensive tours of exploration. 
Various lines of soundings were run, for the purpose of determining the 
depth of the water in different parts of the sea, and quite a careful observa- 
tion was made of all the shores, particularly the western and southern. 
This expedition has certainly the honor of determining the course and 
characteristics of the Jordan, in modern times very imperfectly knowm, 
and of throwing much fight upon the geography and physical peculiari- 
ties of the Dead Sea. It was weU planned and equipped, and possessed 
that combination of means for the want of which most individual travel- 
ers in the same region had been hitheiio imsuccessful, and some of them 
very unfortunate. 

Much enthusiasm and energy were displayed by all concerned in this 
expedition, and though in some instances suffering occurred amid the 
contingencies of so strange and unknown a region, yet so admirably was 
every possible precaution taken and every an'angement cairied out, that 
all the anticipated results were accomplished without serious accident to 
any of the number. Having finished the explorations, the boats were 
taken to pieces and placed upon the backs of camels, the encampment was 
broken up, and the party, gladly bidding farewell to the solemn and deso- 
late scene, on the 10th of May commenced their journey to the Mediter- 
ranean by way of Jerusalem. A part, however, were detailed for the 
performance of a stifi remaining duty — the accurate determination of the 
actual depression of the Dead Sea beneath the level of the Mediterranean. 
The result arrived at by Lieutenant Symonds — an English officer, who 
had by a course of trigonometrical calculation determined the depression 
to be thirteen hundred and twelve feet — had excited surprise among 
scientific men. It was a matter of interest, therefore, to test this conclu- 
sion. A series of levels was, consequently, carried across the country by 
this detachment from Lieut. Lynch's party, which occupied twenty-three 
days in the slow and laborious process. The result, however, was gratifying. 
The difference between the level of the Dead Sea and that of the Mediter- 
ranean was found to be almost precisely what Lieut. Symonds had stated. 



1850.] NAVAL HISTORY. 97 

For a full account of tliis entire expedition, the reader is referred to 
Lieutenant Lynch's published volume. 

In the history of our navy, may also with propriety be mentioned the 
creditable though unsuccessful expedition to the Polar Seas, during the 
years 1850-51, in search of the long absent party of Sir John Franklin. 
This was an individual and not a national enterprise. The means for its 
prosecution were furnished by Mr. Henry Grinnell, a wealthy and phi- 
lanthropic merchant of New York city. The vessels furnished were two 
small brigs, the Advance of 140 tons, and the Rescue of 90 tons. They 
were merchantmen, but were strengthened for this service. By a special 
act of Congress, they were placed under the direction of the Navy Board, 
and were subjected consequently to the usual regulations and discipline of 
the service. The officer selected for the command was Lieutenant E. H. 
De Haven, who had been attached to the Exploring Expedition under 
Commander Wilkes. The selection proved a very judicious one. 

On the 23d of May, 1850, the expedition sailed trom New York, and 
without any particular adventures, began to meet masses of ice in Mel- 
ville Bay about midsummer. The Rescue was here thrown into a very 
perilous situation. A mass of ice slid under her, and lifting her bodily 
from the water, careened her over nearly on her beam-ends, in which 
position she remained some sixty hours before they were able to right her 
again. Their progress was now continued only by boldly pushing through 
the icebergs and floes, until, finally, they emerged into the open waters of 
Lancaster Sound. Here, overtaken by a very severe gale, the vessels 
were separated, but were happy in meeting again a few days after. Thus, 
until the month of September, they continued their perilous course to the 
westward, when they reached 96° west longitude. As winter was now 
approaching, and the ice barrier beyond was entirely impenetrable, the 
vessels were turned to the eastward to find more genial quarters during 
the long polar night. The hopes of the navigatoi-s in this res|X}ct were, 
however, disappointed, for they soon became fii-mly locked between large 
masses of floating ice, and were carried by an in-esistible tide to the north- 
ward, up Wellington Channel. Winter in all its rigor now came on. 
The sun no longer showed his disk above the horizon and the thermome- 
ter indicated 40° below zero.- The Rescue was now deserted, and both 
crews took up their abode on board the Advance, which was made quite 
comfortable with the means which had been lavishly provided. The 
mental and physical energy of the men was maintained by daily and 
vigorous exercise in the open air, and by pleasing entertainments on board 
the vessel. For eleven weeks the sun was invisible. Yet the aspect of 
nature w£is not wholly gloomy — they were dehghted and cheered by fi-e- 
quent views of the splendors' of the polar sky. 

After having drifted some distance up Wellington channel, they found 
that the tide had changed, and that they Avere floating back again under 
the influence of the same mighty force which had borne them onward. 
They thus passed out of Wellington Channel, through Barrow's Straits and 
into Lancaster Sound. It should be borne in mind, also, that during aU 
this time the ice was constantly shifting and threatening the vessels mo- 
mentarily with destruction. Constantly anxious and vigilant, the exposed 
navigatoi-s were ready at any moment to leave their ships, for it seemed 



98 NAVAL HISTORY. 1850. 

impossible that they could sustain such an enormous pressure. At one 
time they stood upon the ice, with their sleds loaded with provisions, and 
waiting foi- the final crash which would demolish their home and leave 
them on the treacherous ice-fields ninety miles from land. After Decem- 
ber, however, the ice became solid, and they were relieved from this source 
of danger. Thus through the entire winter they floated along the south- 
ern shore of Baffin's Bay and Davis' Straits, until the 5th of June, when 
with fearful suddenness the ice broke up into floating pieces, extending 
as far as the eye could reach. They finally emerged into a clear sea, 
having reached the entrance of Davis' Straits and passed to the south of 
the Arctic circle. They had thus drifted helplessly in* the firm embrace 
of the ice, from the last of September till the fii'st of J-une. 

JSothing daunted, they again turned toward the north, with the inten- 
tion of prosecuting their search through another suftimer. But in the 
route which they took, the impediments were so serious and dangerous 
that the attempt at tiirther explorations was abandoned. The Advance 
arrived at New York on the 30th of September, and the Rescue came in 
shortly after, when the vessels were resigned by the Navy Department 
into the hands of their owner. 

This expedition failed, as have aU those fitted out from England also, 
in the attaiimient of its main object. The only traces of the pai-ty of Sir 
John Franklin, which were found, were discovered on the 27th of August, 
1850, by the united English and American expeditions at Beechy Cape, 
on the east side of the entrance to Wellington Chamiel. These traces 
consisted of several articles which could be identified as belonging to 
Franklin's ships, and also of three graves, with head-boards bearing the 
names of those interred, who were sailors attached to the absent expedi- 
tion. The last date thus inscribed was April 3d, 1846. The movements 
and the fate of Franklin beyond this point and this period are entirely 
unknown. Though disappointed in soh'ing the painful mystery which 
still hangs over the condition or the end of the bold English explorer, 
those concerned in the American attempt to throw light upon the interest- 
ing question have the satisfaction of feeling, tliat they have made a generous 
efibit in behalf of a stranger and a foreigner. 

At the present time, 1853, the resources of the Navy are directed in 
quite an unusual degree to projects which csntemplate the safety and the 
extension of American commerce and the maintenance of the rights of 
humanity. The most prominent of these projects is that which has in 
view the establishment of commercial relations with the empire of Japan. 
The government of that large nation has for a long period denied to other 
nations, with a most insignificant exception^ all access into its ports or 
ten'itory ; has refused hospitality and succor to unfortunate mariners, and 
has treated with great cruelty such citizens 5f the United States, as well 
as those of other countries, as have been cast 'by shipwreck upon the well- 
guardetl shores. It has been therefore deemed obligatory by the govern- 
ment of the United States, to make an attempt to obtain from this jealous 
and secluded people, a recognition and observance of the rights of human- 
ity, and alsQ to induce them, if possible, to abandon their present absurd 
commercial policy. The extension of the territory of the United States 
along the shore of the Pacific, and the presence of a large whaling fleet 



1853.J NAVAL HISTORY. 99 

in the seas which surround Japan, make these objects highly important. 
A squadi'on of unusual size has consequently been placed vmder the orders 
of Commodore Matthew C. Perry, the Commander-in-chief on the East 
India station. It consists of the steam frigate Mississippi 10, flag-ship; 
steam frigate Susquehanna 9 ; steam frigate Powhatan 9 ; sloops-of-war 
Macedonian 20, Plymouth 20, Saratoga 20, Vandalia 20 ; and store-ship 
Supply 4.* 

An expedition is also under orders to sail, for the purpose of thoroughly 
exploring and surveying the China seas, the North Pacific, and Behring's 
Straits. This expedition will probably be absent thi-ee years or upward. 
It is under the command of Commander Cadwallader Ringgold, an officer 
who has acquired a high reputation in connection with the former Explor- 
ing Expedition imder Commander Charles Wilkes. It consists of the 
sloop-of-war Vincennes 20; brig Porpoise 10; both of which vessels were 
engaged in the fii'st Exploring Expedition; the steamer John Hancock 
3; and schooner Fenimore Cooper 3, a pilot-boat, pm-chased for this 
particular service. 

An expedition for the exploration and survey of the River La Plata, 
and its tributaries, which have lately been opened to foreign commerce, 
has also been undertaken. For this purpose the steamer Water Witch 
2, has been placed under the command of Lieutenant Thomas J. Page. 

Commander William F. Lynch, who conducted the expedition to the 
Jordan and the Dead Sea, is also under orders to make preparatory explo- 
rations on the western coast of Africa, in view of an expedition designed 
to penetrate into the imknown regions lying to the eastward of Liberia. 
The small steamer Vixen 3, has been ordered to join the African squadron, 
in order to facilitate the operations of Commander Lynch. 

The condition of the Navy at the present time in respect to vessels and 
oflacei-s, is as follows: 

Eleven ships-of-the-line, one of 120 guns, and the remainder of 74 
guns each. Of these, fom- are on the stocks, four are in ordinary, and 
thi-ee are in commission as receiving-ships. 

One razee of 54 guns. Twelve frigates of the first class, rating 44 guns 
each. One frigate rating 36 guns. 

Sixteen sloops-of-war, 20 guns each, one of 18 guns, and four of 16 
guns each. 

Four brigs, of 10 gims each. Fom schooners mounting in all seven 
guns. 

Five steam frigates, one of 10 guns, two of 9 guns each, and two of 6 
guns each. 

Eleven steamers of the first and second class, with armaments of ten 
guns down to one gun. 

Fi\'e store-ships, two of 6, and three of 4 guns. 

The oflicers of the various grades are: 

Sixty-eight captains; Commodore Charles Stewart being now at the 

• Tho linc-of battle ship Vermont 74 was also put in commission to be connected with this 
expedition, but she has not been able to go to sea in consequence in part of the present diffi- 
culty of obtaining seamen for the Navy, and also because it is discovered that to man her wiQ 
raise the number of men employed in this branch of the service above the full complement 
which is n vv allowed by law. 



100 NAVAL HISTORY. [1853. 

head of the list. Ninety-seven commanders ; three hundred and twenty- 
seven heutenants; sixty-nine surgeons; forty passed assistant-surgeons; 
thirty-seven assistant-surgeons ; sixty-three pursers ; twenty -four chaplains ; 
twelve professors of mathematics; fourteen masters in the line of pro- 
motion ; one hundred and ninety-seven passed-midshipmen ; one hundred 
and ninety-eight midshipmen. Petty officei's, comprising masters, boats- 
wains, gunners, carpenters, and sailmakers, about two hundred. 

The marine corps comprises one colonel, who is a brigadier-general by 
brevet; four staft-ofiicers ; one lieutenant-colonel; four majors; fifteen 
captains; twenty first-lieutenants; and twenty second-lieutenants. The 
steam service possesses one engineer-in-chief; thirteen chief-engineers; 
eighteen first-assistants ; thirty-four second-assistants ; and thirty-four third- 
assistants. 



EERATA. 

Vol. I., page 114, line 17. For "40," read "49." 
" 122, " 6. For "20," read "28." 
" " 157, " 18 from bottom. For " expeaition," read " exhibition." 

" " 172, " 6 from bottom. For " latter," read " former ;" aud 

for "windward," read "leeward." 

Vol. I., page 204, line 8 from bottom. After " New York 36," read " Captain 
James BaiTou ; John Adams 28." 

Vol. I., page 272, line 13 from bottom. For " 1842," read " 1840." 
" 18 from bottom. For " 1844," read "1843." 
Vol. IL, page 26, line 16, For " 24," read " 28." 

" " 72, " 26. After "river," insert "Just without the bar, an- 

other brig was seen." 

Vol. II., page 110, line 16. For " display in the causalities," read "dispar- 
ity in the casualties." 

Vol. II., page 110, line 27. After " were," insert " much torn to pieces. The 
water being quite." 

Vol. II., pages 56, 70 and elsewhere. For "Mr. Alwyn," read "Mr. Aylwin." 
" page 139, line 12 from bottom. For " commanders," read " com- 

mands." 

Vol. II., page 142, line 20. After "men," insert " N"o. 162, Acting-lieutenant 
Spedden, 5 guns and 35 men ;" 

Vol. II., page 187, line 13. For "end," read "middle." 

" " 192, last line. After " him," insert •' his young brother and." 

" " 193, line 24. After " master," insert " Mr. Hambleton, Purser." 

" " 206, " 13. For " marines," read " mariners." 

" " 213, " 8 from bottom. After " carronades," insert "the 

Eagle, 8 long eighteens, and 12 thirty -two-pound carronades;" 

Vol. II. page 221, line 9 from bottom. Among the officers in command of 
the galleys, whose conduct is commended, insert " Mr. Stellwagen, master." 



The foot-notes, stating the rank of certain officers, as in Vol. IL, pages 
56, 109 and elsewhere, remain as written by Mr. Cooper in 1846 



M r^i'32 



■1 . '05 
■'r uD 



